Wintry Wonderland (Open)

[Finnie]

Open winter timestamp: (a meeting/ fun area for PCs)

As frost began to bite and the dragonic winds ceased, the weather in Demios became generally colder, the darkenings longer, and snow fell. Yet on some brightenings during the cycle, the suns shone brightly and it felt as if the summer air had never left the isle. One brightening one could have her (or his) arse frozen off if one did not wear enough layers of clothing, the other, one would wish to have strolled out of the house in the nude.

In the noble's district, however, with the help of elementalists, the brightenings were always cold. The nobles liked the snow and the whiteness. In the middle of a district was a general admission ice skating rink, where one could wear bladed shoes to skate around the pond and not fear falling in and freezing to death.

In the park of the district, ice sculptures of all shapes and sizes were on display. For ten crowns, one could purchase a small block of ice and try his (or her) hand at sculpting ice.

[Viskyia Crow]

TS: Late Kalendryas, Winter, Era XV, pf (early afternoon)

Viskyia needed a break. She needed some alone, or with non-prepubescent company for some time to think and be an adult. So she trekked out in her heavy winter clothing, off to find the ice rink that was rumored to have opened up near the center of town. Once there, she leaned against the rail a long time... just watching. The half-esh wasn't sure she'd be able to ice skate. There were blades for rent, and people encouraging newcomers to try it... but she lacked true conviction that it was an actual sane and fun thing too do. A great many people were falling on their rear and laughing. There were couples too, holding hands and skating... which made her smile whimsically. She was missing someone... but it wasn't to be helped. Two lives, two separate lives. She knew the cost of getting emotionally involved, and so she simply leaned on the rail and watched, an outsider to the crowd... wondering if she'd ever have enough courage to try. It was an analogy to the rest of her life, really...

And so she waited, trying to decide... skating, or standing on the sidelines watching others enjoy themselves. The half-esh waited, thinking it over... thinking a lot of things over.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

Tristan wasn’t entirely sure whether he liked the cold and the snow and the whiteness even though some would most likely consider him a noble. The young man had spent too much time in Arakmat where it was hot all era long and the suns burned down relentlessly. He knew that he loved meeting people though, showing off his skills, impressing them and just generally having a good time. Freezing a little and putting up with that annoying white stuff that seemed to be everywhere was a small sacrifice compared to all that.

He was wearing a warm woollen cloak, dyed dark green and a scarf, not the most fashionable of clothes, but he had not been able to find anything else, even after checking just about every wardrobe and every chest in the Thane’s estate, and his own clothes were all made for much warmer temperatures.

He rented a pair of blades, put them on and tentatively entered the ice. He’d been a dancer once and toured the Sultanate with his troupe, one of many jobs he’d had. He’d gained a bit of fame in his time and had his share of admirers. This wasn’t that much different. It was dancing on ice with blades that were sharp enough to cut meat on your feet, and he’d probably learn it within a brightening.

He moved slowly at first, trying to get a feel for it, and then faster, faster, faster, lifting one leg, then the other one, jumping – until he almost landed on his behind, in a graceful manner of course. It was then that he noticed her, a white haired lady watching the people on the ice. He moved over to her, leaned across the rail and smiled. It was a good natured, friendly smile, not the kind of smile he used to flirt – that would come later as anything else would have been impolite.

“Why are you not on the ice, miss? It is quite enjoyable.” His green eyes shimmered brightly as he extended his hand as if he wanted to invite her, to come and try, to challenge her. “You look sad. This will make you forget your problems for a while.”

[Viskyia Crow]

The jeweler blinked, started that the man had come up to her and spoke. She smiled, friendly, and glanced back out at the ice. "It looks a bit challenging. I'd have to go rent blades." The half-esh said, glancing at the stand where the man was renting them. "Have you been skating long? You look like you're doing well." Viskyia said, smiling once more as two men went speeding by... they were skating hard, chasing each other, laughing. Brothers, she assumed, and her grin widened. "It does look like fun. I'll go get some blades. I'm Viskyia, by the way." She said, deciding all she really had needed was an invitation. The man before her looked vaguely familiar, but she wasn't certain...."You look really familiar... Oh, from the spider races... you almost won! I was jealous of how you rode. I thought you'd done it before." The jeweler said, laughing lightly. Now that she'd identified the man somewhat, she felt slightly more relaxed. "I'll be right back..."

The half esh left him at the rail and went to rent some blades, strapping them to her boots and heading hesitantly out onto the ice. It was... unusual. Wet but frozen, it was slick under her feet but with the blades, it wasn't as hard as she first imagined... nor as difficult as it looked. It took strength in her ankles and shins to hold herself up. And though her steps where hesitant, she laughed nonetheless, looking once more for the friendly gentleman who'd been so encouraging. "How in the world do we do this?" She asked, still smiling as she held her arms out for balance and tried to stay on her feet.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

„No, not very long“, he answered. „In fact I only started today. I have learned to dance however, and this is not that different as long as you don’t think too much about those blades on your shoes. Then you lose your balance.“ He grinned. That was the problem with most things, you just couldn’t do well if you worried too much.

„Yes, I’m the one.“ He was rather pleased that she remembered the spider races. He’d regretted that he hadn’t won, but he’d apparently made an impression regardless. „I’m Tristan. I’m your new thane, but don’t tell anybody yet. It’s a secret. I’m incognito.“ He pointed at his rather unfashionable clothes that he would never ever wear when he was working, no matter whether it was as a politician or as manager at that club with the female entertainers.

His smile widened. Tristan had a certain way of smiling that alternately made him look like a little boy and a man that only had one thing in mind, namely women. This time he was using the boy’s smile that was full of mischief.

He waited patiently for her to rent her own blades and watched amusedly as she entered the ice for the first time. She was doing rather well. She hand’t fallen yet or embarrassed herself in any other way.

„You could hold my hand if you are afraid of falling“, she suggested. „And then lean on one foot and push in a diagonal direction outwards.“ He furrowed his brow. „At least that’s what I’m doing. I’m afraid I’m not a particularly good teacher, and this may be entirely the wrong way and only lead to broken bones.“

[Viskyia Crow]

OOCI'm soo sorry for the slow response. I'm back now full force.

Viskyia laughed lightly and decided immediately that she liked Tristan. A man that admitted he could dance and equated skating to it couldn't be all that bad. "I'm Viskyia... and you're a Thane, Tristan?" She hesitated a moment, then smiled once more, though it was a more apologetic smile than one rife with humor. "Forgive my ignorance... I once took a politics class but I'm afraid I was thrown out about five minutes after it started.... what exactly is a Thane? I'm not sure if I should react with awe or delight or even fear... it'd be nice to know the appropriate response." She said, in her usual humor... which had lightened somewhat since the children had come into her life. She watched him and copied his movements, finding the skating not that hard at all really... as her arms slowly came down and her movements lost their jerky animated reactions... and she did indeed take his hand.

"I'm a local jeweler... and recent Demios transplant." She introduced herself, clutched him tightly for a moment as a blade slipped slightly, then corrected herself and followed him out across the rink. Their breath made a cloud of silvery fog around them as they slowly worked around the rink. Viskyia concentrated on her skating for a while before she said anything else. "I wasn't sure I was going to like Demios... moves are hard for me. But I love the weather here... but now... now I'm glad I did. Even the winter here is wonderful..." She said with a smile. "What about you, Lord Thane.... do you love the snow?" Viskyia said in a playful voice before squeaking as she almost went down on her blades again. Righting herself, she laughed, and grew silent once more as she concentrated on staying upright. Viskyia had loved the fierce long winters of Arium. She'd loved running in storms, a practice she didn't do here enough... though now, with the beach and dusk and dawn she often went running alone... it was a habit she'd acquired... beach combing as she went and staring out over the water, as if always waiting.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

„I didn’t take any politics classes at all, so no apology is needed“, he told her. He hadn’t paid any attention to what Milo was doing back in Prime either – apart from the fact that he lived in a palace and had a park that was big enough that you could hunt and go fishing in it. Although, being Rioughe’s son, he had a natural talent for scheming and lying and making other people work which was in essence what being a politician was all about.

What exactly was a Thane though? He needed a few moments to come up with a halway satisfactory answer since he had no idea what his official job description was. “I rule Demios, I suppose”, he said and shrugged his shoulders, making it seem as if there was nothing special about it. “I make sure that everything here stays in one piece. I appoint the aedile, the prefect and a number of other less important people, write letters to other thanes and do a lot of other things that are much too boring to mention them here.”

“Either response is fine. Although I would very much prefer delight. If you decided to fear me, I wouldn’t know how to react and spend the rest of my life wondering what exactly it was that scared you so.” He sounded dead serious here, as if he’d really hide in a dark corner, racking his brain, for the remainder of his existence.

“A jeweler? Could you make a ring for me? I’ve always wondered if it was acceptable the replace that big, ugly signet ring they gave me when I became thane. Careful now”, he added as she almost slipped and tried to steady her. “It’s a bit tricky, at least, but you are learning this remarkably fast.” He found that he was indeed having fun, that his search for the one women on this island that wouldn’t mind his company was taking a backstance. In fact he almost felt like a child again, without a care in the world.

He concentrated on the skating now, so that he’d make a good impression on her. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front a lady. That wasn’t acceptable, not if one aspired to be seen as a gentleman. “The snow? I’m not entirely sure. It’s beautiful, sometimes, but part of me misses the heat of Arakmat. It’s almost schizophrenic, isn’t it? That one loves both the heat and the cold?”

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia smiled, swerved to miss a small skating boy, and gripped Tristan's hand tighter to keep from falling after the abrupt movement. It wasn't easy balancing on the blades, and sliding along the ice upon them. She turned her head and watched him skate and nodded. "I'd always wondered what a thane's job actually was." She said, hoping he didn't find her ignorant. "I spend a lot of time in my workshop and rarely get out." She confessed.

Tristan was a good skater, even though his technique wasn't confident or professional... he did have grace. And the boyish grin made her comfortable.

"I don't think thats so crazy. I like extremes too. There are just some people like that. I love the hot hot summer weather here and the icy cold snow of winter. I don't think I'd much enjoy a tropical island... one where the weather never changed. It'd be soo... predictable and I don't much care for such things." She said softly, then squeaked slightly once more as she almost fell. An imperfection in the ice had caught up her blade and almost tripped her. She stepped over the next one, and grinned apologetically to him. "Sorry, this skating makes me feel clumsy." She said carefully.

As for his question about the ring... she nodded. "Of course... stop by the shop and I can work on a sketch for you. I've done quite a few signets. We can definitely work something up you like better than the present ring." She said with a smile. Business was always good. That was the great thing about being a jeweler. Everyone sometime or another needed a ring.

"So what about you? Do you own a business or do something as a hobby? I'm not sure how much free time Thane's have." The Jeweler said gently.

[Tristan L'Evienne]

„You should get out more often then“, he decided. „Although your work sounds interesting, there are a lot of things you are going to miss if you spend your brightenings locked up in your workshop.“ Being inside all brightening long, that certainly wasn’t something for Tristan, and even though he’d become Thane, he wouldn’t just sit in his office and deal with boring government officials and even more boring paperwork. He fully intended to enjoy his life. What was a life good for if you couldn’t have fun?

„Tropical islands have other advantages“, he told her. „The weather may not change much – apart from the occasional rain – but did you ever go for a walk in the jungle? Did you ever take a look at the animals, at the multitude of different plants? Did you ever watch the people on such an island? The weather may be predictable, but the people that live there are anything but. You should travel a bit sometimes, get to know the Empire.“

„No need to apologize“, he said as she almost tripped and steadied her. „You are not clumsy. You have not really fallen yet, have you?“ He grinned at her. As she asked about any businesses or hobbies he had, he made a cryptic face. „That would not be appropriate for a lady, I’m afraid.“ He laughed after he had said this, as if he’d made a joke. But really, was managing a Gentlemen’s Club something you mentioned to a lady you’d only just met?

„My business at least, although I have a number of harmless, albeit unusual hobbies.“ He gave her that boyish, innocent smile again. Maybe he should have become an actor. „I write, and I paint. I’m not a master at either, but I’ve earned a few crowns with it back in Jaedaxia when I had nothing better to do than paint all brightening long. I’ve also recently started training with a sword – which is a kind of hobby, I suppose, since I never intend to fight in a war or for money. And I’ve learned a bit about fortune telling and the ways of the gypsies.“

Shall I tell you your fortune, milady?“ Of course he couldn’t really tell her her fortunet here and now – he could just pretend to do so since he did not have any bones or runes or other things he needed with him – but did that matter?

Besides, this time it was his turn to almost fall because he insisted on doing some kind of pirouette on the ice. He almost managed it, it was just towards the end that he noticed that the only things that connected him to the ground were two thin metal blades and lost balance as a consequence.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia enjoyed the converstation. In fact, it reminded her of someone... Reilly. Their temperaments were suited to one another, and their attention span was just about as long too. Yes, skating here was about like skating along with the male version of her sculpture shop friend, and that was somewhat amusing to the jeweler.

He needed to get outside, thought people were fascinating, and painted and wrote. He liked sharp things, and she suddenly had to conceal a giggle as she wondered absently if shiny things distracted him too. When she heard his remark about his hobbies not being appropriate for a lady, she shook her head slightly and rolled her eyes where he couldn't see her doing it? Was it a big secret then that some men considered drinking, whoring, and bar fighting hobbies? She wondered what category he fit into, and decided it was probably all three... though less with the bar fighting because his elegant nose was not the least bit crooked.

"I'm sure people are fascinating. But I don't socialize much, so unless the climate suites me, the place wouldn't. The fortune telling does sound interesting. I've never had mine told. How do you do it? With cards or those funny stones or by staring at my hands or reading tea leaves?" She'd heard all the stories, but never had she really put much stock into them or actually been around a real gypsy to ask for a reading.

She released his hand as he got more fancy with the skating. Viskyia didn't really need it anyhow, since she was slowly getting the hang of standing up on ice and sliding along it. It wasn't easy, of course, but it was fun. And as she grew in confidence, so too did her speed.

"It certainly does sound like you've lived an interesting life." Viskyia said to him once he'd recovered from his pirouette and settled down to skate straight. "What made you want to become thane?"

[Tristan L'Evienne]

Tristan wasn’t a real gypsy either – he was the opposite of a gypsy, actually – a well educated young gentleman who had been born and bred in Jaedaxia and didn’t really believe in any supernatural things – apart from the gods of course. He had just thought fortune telling would be an interesting skill to have, to find out more about other people. “Actually”, he said. “Actually I do it with bones. Little bones that have runes on them. You throw them, and then you interprete the way they are lying on the floor. I have never tried palm reading or tea leaves. I don’t really believe that tea leaves can tell you anything either. This thing with the bones my teacher told me sounded a little more credible. There’s actually a whole long story attached to them.”

He pouted a little as she released his hand, but then he smiled and tried another fancy move, with somewhat limited success. His body just couldn’t always do what his mind wanted. “Why?” he asked as she wanted to know why he had become thane. “It just seemed the logical thing to do. I wanted to settle down and do something that actually matters. I was tired of travelling. I actually only visited your old thane because I wanted to know what he was doing. I just wanted to say serale to him. But then we talked, he liked what I was saying, confided in me that he wanted to retire … and here I am!”

He laughed.

“I suppose now is the time I should ask you why you became a jeweler.”