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Topic Started: Aug 21 2010, 12:26 AM (654 Views)
Hiros
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[ *  *  * ]
A short, burly elf sat quietly in the common area of the temple, working on fletching arrows while he waited for dinner to be ready. He had wanted to spend the time talking to Sidonie, as it had been a few weeks since he had seen her last. Unfortunately, she seemed to be in a meeting with Father Trent. Which meant that she probably was in trouble again. He sighed. Sidonie had a lot of good qualities, but she could be incredibly bullheaded, and he knew that it was a trial to Father Trent.

He had heard from the people around town that they had a visitor from Father Pathos’s temple. He was curious, mostly because he knew Sidonie would want to wring the poor priest of stories. He wanted to know what type of person she would be hanging out with. It was disturbing, her interest in other realms. They had what they needed here. There was no reason to be curious of places where she’d suffer in the heat. It didn’t make any sense. But… It did make her happy, and she seemed grounded enough in her job that it didn’t worry him that much.
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Vivica
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[ *  *  * ]
Caleb worried for Sidonie as she was locked away in Trent’s office and prayed that she wouldn’t lose her job because of him. He could hear no raised voices from outside of the room, but he tried his best to stay focused on reading his book. A significant dent had been made in his reading, but he had yet to complete the sections that Trent had made for him. During his conversation with Sidonie, he had decided to take the responsible route and set aside time to read, which had worked for him until she came to him letting him know that she was about to tell Trent what she had told him. Worry kept him waiting outside of the office, but it was terribly distracting; every low murmur that found its way outside of the room, he tried to decode into coherent words. After a pause in his reading, where Caleb was sure that he had heard ‘disgrace,’ he let out a sigh and dropped his arms. It was likely that they were speaking in their native tongue, so there was no sense in him waiting outside, losing hair and reading time to stress. Deciding that he would put his time to good use, Caleb walked down the hallway to the temple’s common area.

The first thing he noticed upon entering was the short elf keeping himself busy. He must have been a hunter. Did all Ice Realmers have to be so muscular? They made him look pathetically weak, he whined inwardly to himself, though not too seriously. Even the women were strong. Not wanting to be a bother, Caleb uttered a “hello,” and then took a seat to finish his reading.
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Hiros
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[ *  *  * ]
Quill glanced up when a strange voice said hello. This must be the priest, then. It wasn’t as if there was anyone else foreign in the small village right now. Visitors were not that common. “Hello.” He finished the arrow that he was working on, and then stared at him for a moment. He was reading, but… Quill didn’t really care. He wanted to know how long he had been there, and if he had talked to Sidonie yet. “I’m Quill. You’re the priest from the light realm, right?” It seemed stupid to ask, but he wanted him to introduce himself.

“Have you been here long?” If he had just arrived, it was possible that Sidonie hadn’t met him yet. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want her to meet the priest… But… When there was foreigners in the village, it was much harder to get her to spend time with him. He wasn’t in the village as frequently as he would like, and he wanted to spend time with her. If he could talk to her before she realized the priest was there, it would maybe be possible to at least arrange a date.
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Vivica
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[ *  *  * ]
Caleb was content to find out that, as intimidating as the other man was, he returned the greeting. He had been slightly worried that the villagers who didn’t staff the temple (the scarred man hadn’t been present at dinner last night, so Caleb had made assumptions) would be unreceptive of him. Sitting in the common room, he could feel no discomfort from…Quill. Caleb looked up from his book and turned his eyes on the elf attentively. He was Sidonie’s boyfriend? He suddenly felt self-conscious. His physique was far from being as muscular as Quill. Was that really the type of man she was attracted to? Realizing that he had paused, Caleb nodded and answered him. “Yes. I’m Caleb.” Guilt edged at him as well. Facing the man whose girlfriend he had fantasized about took a toll on his conscience.

“No. I arrived yesterday evening.” He wanted to bring up Sidonie, as an inconspicuous way to make it seem like he had no interest in her, a move he would have pulled as a teenager. It would have made things obvious. With feelings as strong as his, he wouldn’t be able to talk about her without cracking a smile. Her boyfriend would be able to tell right away and he didn’t want to cause any strife between them. To prevent an awkward silence, he forced conversation. “Are you a hunter? I didn’t see you at dinner last night.”
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Hiros
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[ *  *  * ]
The other man seemed to become more alert when Quill introduced himself. Either he was committing to having a conversation rather than continuing reading, or he had heard Quill’s name before. It was slightly unnerving either way. The priest’s appearance was somewhat creepy to him. “I see.” Quill’s heart sank a little. Even if Sidonie had spent the evening visiting her family, she would have been here the rest of the day. So they would have met. Unless Sidonie had been in trouble all day… He didn’t want that either, though. It would still make it difficult for him to spend time with her.

“Yes, I’m a hunter.” He spoke simply. He didn’t think it was necessary to elaborate on that. “Do you hunt?” He asked, although he didn’t think it was likely. He seemed like the type of person that sat in a basement library all of the time. Although it might be entertaining to drag him along on a hunt in order to “have him experience ice realm culture” or whatever the reason the priest claimed to be here for. It might show Sidonie that soft foreigners weren’t that great after all.

Then another thought occurred to him. Caleb had come from the direction of Father Trent’s office… Maybe he knew why Sidonie was in trouble this time. “Were you at Father Trent’s office?”
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Vivica
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[ *  *  * ]
“Ah, no, I don’t. It’s not an interest of mine…” In his household, which was always stocked with enough meat for the residents, it would be wasteful to hunt for more food. It was unnecessary to his lifestyle. But it wasn’t only that he didn’t need to hunt; as an animal lover, he doubted that he could bring himself to shoot any peaceful creature. He purposefully avoided saying the true reason behind his disinterest to avoid embarrassing himself in front of the tough-looking man. His masculinity had to be protected in Quill’s presence. He hardly had the physique for hunting. Had the other man been mocking him when he asked if Caleb was a hunter?

“Technically.” The answer came without hesitation and then he debated whether or not to elaborate. If he acted so secretive, any being with social skills would wonder why he needed to be so brief. “I was waiting outside of the office, for Sidonie.” Caleb kept casual eye contact, monitoring Quill for his reaction and to avoid appearing suspicious. “But I decided that completing the readings that Father Trent assigned to me takes priority.”
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Hiros
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[ *  *  * ]
“That’s too bad…” His tone was mildly disappointed and his slight smirk could be taken as patronizing. It didn’t surprise him that Caleb didn’t hunt. Foreigners were strange. Even those who stayed in the village hunted occasionally, when there weren’t tribes bringing in food.

Quill frowned at Caleb’s answer. He was a simple man, and technicalities tended to be used when someone was trying to bend the rules or twist the meanings of words. It irritated him. He was quiet, watching Caleb warily as the priest explained himself. “Why were you waiting for her?” He kept his tone even. He wondered if Sidonie had offended him. It would explain why she was in trouble. But it didn’t it really explain why Caleb was waiting, and why he didn’t seem to be particularly upset.
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Vivica
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[ *  *  * ]
“I really have no need to hunt,” Caleb replied calmly to the jab. What was that smirk for? Priesthood was his main focus in life. “The city is populous enough that there is no need for every resident to learn how to hunt. “ He gave Quill a plain look. The smug expression was interpreted—aside from being insulting--as being ignorant to what it was like to live in a different realm. “We rarely have a shortage of hunters due to the amount of emigrants Florentior receives. It would be detrimental to the economic status for those who need the job for every resident to hunt for their own food.” Dark Realmers that had the skills to hunt would be able to support themselves or their families; it would be morally wrong of those who already had a job to take from the needy.

“I enjoy talking to her. If she isn’t on any task when she’s done speaking to Father Trent, I wanted to continue our conversation.” But, with her boyfriend sitting in the common room, which she would likely go to, he could assume that he would be pushed aside in favor of him. Believing that it would be unfair of him to act as if he didn’t know about Quill and Sidonie’s relationship, Caleb added: “But once she sees you, I think that’ll change. She’s mentioned you.” As satisfying as it would have been, Caleb couldn’t exclude that fact. Part of him wanted Quill to know his thoughts, to see him as a threat because he so easily could be; the way she blushed and smiled at him were signs. If he was a less morally upright man, she could be his.
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Hiros
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[ *  *  * ]
Quill gave Caleb a blank stare as he lectured about economics and immigration. It sounded like he was trying to cover up or explain himself out of a hole. He didn’t care if he had a million reasons for not hunting. It was pathetic and just getting worse. He returned his attention to his arrows. “You talk too much.” He spoke plainly. “I would have invited you along if you did. It’s too bad that you don’t, but I really don’t care about the reasons why.” He couldn’t understand how Sidonie thought stuff like this was interesting. It wasn’t as if it applied to life here. It was dull and annoying.

Quill would have rather Sidonie had upset the man. But to know that they were happily conversing already… it was disappointing. He was happy that she had at least mentioned him, but he really doubted what Caleb said. It would be difficult for him to pry her away from the stupid foreigner. He didn’t want to say it, though, because the man irritated him. If he complained, Quill was likely to get a lecture about how things were done in the light realm, like it was so much better. “It will be dinner soon. She’ll probably be busy.” Maybe that would discourage Caleb. Maybe he’d go to his room to read until then… One could only hope.
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Vivica
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“Do I?” Caleb found himself amused by the statement. He had hardly started a sermon-length lecture. What a simple man Quill was. Did Sidonie like that sort of thing? “Some things require more than a few words of explanation, but I do also like to talk.” So did Quill’s girlfriend. It seemed to Caleb like he needed an enormous amount of simplification, even if it did nothing more than keep him quiet. “Ah, that’s strange, but thank you for the offer,” he commented on Quill’s invitation. His eyes focused on Quill with a wry expression, silently telling him ‘I’m not stupid.’ A muscular man like Quill would know that Caleb’s physique was not that of one who hunted—not even casually.

It sounded like Quill was reacting just as Caleb had wanted him to: defensively. He could be considered a threat in spite of his skinny body, though, his emotions were still conflicted. It was immature and immoral of him to behave in that manner, but his mind so strongly encouraged him to act how he wanted to. “Ah, you’re right.” It was likely that during and after dinner, Caleb would engage in a conversation with the priests at the temple, which he did want. Sidonie was a sweet girl, but he wanted to discuss his now-enlightened thoughts on certain Ice Realm practices and to ask the religious scholars questions. But, if he could manage to be slightly imposing before her attention would turn to Quill… “I don’t mind waiting here. I’m still getting used to the temperature of the temple. Ah, if you’ll excuse me…” Caleb opened his book and began reading to indicate that he intended on staying in the common room. He wouldn’t budge.
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Hiros
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“How is it strange?” His tone shifted to mildly threatening. Even if the thought of mocking him hadn’t crossed his mind, Quill would have still considered asking. If one was able, it was rude not to help with the hunt, even as a guest. He hadn’t thought Caleb would be able, but he wasn’t going to admit that he had judged him on his physique. And honestly, there were those who looked weak but were actually adept at hunting.

Quill watched the priest, even unhappier that Sidonie wanted to talk to this guy. What a jerk, waltzing in here and lecturing about how great his city was because he didn’t have to hunt, and then saying Quill was strange for asking him to contribute. Sidonie already had more than enough fascination with the other realms; she didn’t need the priest filling her head with thoughts that the ice realm was “strange.” He had actually liked Father Pathos. Even though he was too old to hunt, he had at least brought food to share. His presence wasn’t a burden. And he would have understood why a hunter would ask that. He was sorely tempted to lower the temperature of the room in order to get him to go away. He behaved though.
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Vivica
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“Hm? I thought I already said that. I don’t look like I do much hunting, do I? I would probably pass out from the cold.” Goodness, was he being touchy, getting himself worked up over a light comment. It was reaching, but, he could see how his words could be interpreted as an attack. He didn’t want to be seen as a threat to Quill’s way of life—only to his relationship with Sidonie (even if he felt a little ashamed of it). “I’m at fault here; I meant no insult. I assumed that I would be judged by my physique.” He honestly hadn’t meant to come across as rude. Miscommunication was such a problem here… “I would love to have the opportunity to help in some way.” He was obviously no athlete: skinny body, sallow face, dark circles beneath his eyes… It really would be funny if somebody thought that he could hunt. Quill really may have been putting on an indignant act to avoid admitting that he had judged Caleb by his appearance.
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Hiros
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Quill frowned and shook his head slightly. Caleb hadn’t said why it would be strange. He had went on and on about his stupid city, but nothing about why it would be strange for Quill to ask him if he wanted to help with the hunt. “I wouldn’t know.” The priest admitted that he was at fault. Grudgingly, he did the same. “I admit I didn’t think you were a hunter, since you are from a city.” Not because he looked weak. He still wouldn’t admit that. “But I didn’t want to assume.” He was quiet as Caleb claimed he would be happy to help. “It isn’t strange to ask a guest to help. I’m sure everyone would appreciate the offer.” For some strange reason, he wasn’t entirely happy that Caleb was not as rude as what he first seemed to be. He didn’t want Sidonie idolizing a jerk just because he was foreign, but he also didn’t really want him to deserve her attention either. He’d rather have Pathos back. It wasn’t fair.

Sidonie slumped her shoulders as she was dismissed from the office. She shut the door quietly behind her. She felt guilty and terrible for having bent the rules. Although, she had to admit, it could have been worse. She had been lectured worse than any other lecture she had in the past, but he hadn’t thrown her out into the tundra to perish or give her extra chores or any sort of punishment like that. The shame was enough, at this point. And he had at least conceded that it was good to have a first hand account on her previous life. So it wasn’t like she was forbidden to talk to Caleb about it again. She wasn’t allowed to give out any more details about his charts or how the process worked, but she was allowed to seek more information herself. She turned the corner into the common area. She could have a few moments to calm down before she’d have to go help with dinner. She was a little startled that both Quill and Caleb were sitting there working. She smiled sadly at them. “Hi…”
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Vivica
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[ *  *  * ]
“I’ve only lived in cities for most of my life, so that is part of it. There’s such a large population and a large selection of occupations… It’s very different from this village.” To show that he meant for his statement to be taken as positive, he added: “It’s certainly less intimate than a small place like this.” But, both of their temples had a cozy feeling due to the familial environment that the resident staff gave. “I’ll ask how I can help…” At least he had learned something new about Ice Realm culture. Aside from the tribes of the Earth Realm, it was not customary of the people of other realms to request that their guest help out. When Caleb acted as a host, he paid extra attention to ensure that his guest was comfortable in his temple. But, when he was a guest, he normally did what he could to help out.

He nearly stood up when Sidonie entered the room, but he resisted in Quill’s presence. There was no need to get him upset again and he especially had no desire to make his feelings obvious. “Hello…” He noticed that Sidonie seemed upset, which meant bad news. Had she lost her job? Was she be punished for telling him about her past life? He had to know as soon as possible, but he couldn’t ask her boyfriend to leave the room… He sat back in his seat and shifted his book in his lap as he tried to make his presence less apparent, in case she wanted to speak to Quill instead of him. He contemplated leaving the room to be polite to them, but he considered the chance that she would include him.
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Hiros
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Quill stood up when Sidonie entered the room, going over to her to make sure she was okay. “Are you alright? What happened?” He spoke quietly in their shared native language, wanting her to feel comfortable talking in case it was something that was embarrassing to have strangers like Caleb hear.

Sidonie hugged Quill, needing physical comfort after her verbal dressing down. “I got scolded for telling him something from his star charts… I’m not in trouble, because it was important… I’ll tell you more later…” She responded quietly in the same language, and then glanced over at Caleb, and switched to Amirian. “It will be okay. I only got scolded. Father Trent said that he’d want to talk about it with you after dinner.”

Quill hugged her back. He was shocked to hear what she had done. How could she trust an outsider so easily? Even if what she had told him was important… It wasn’t a good idea. He started to say something, but she promised to tell him more later, which meant probably away from Caleb, which meant that she would make time for him. His expression briefly shifted to a smile, then back to his usual serious front. Perhaps Father Trent had encouraged her to stay away from Caleb…
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