Awaking in the High Temple ~ Aeris

[Aeris Mourir]

The swanmaiden nodded when Nadia suggested that the qualities of Anasis resided in each woman. Aeris agreed, especially about the mother and daughter comment.

The angel opened to her mouth to start the long process of what her training involved, but "yes, tea, that would be perfect," came out instead. "Just a little of honey," was quickly added before the priestess acquired the lush liquid.

"About my training ... I was taught mostly defensive moves .. martial arts, whips for disarming people. I've never been much of a killer, even when I was forced to. I would rather render them unconcious and have others do what they need to do," she finally finished.

"What other skills do you possess? Are you just a simple priestess, or have some other worldly power to you?" she asked in a fun tone.

[Ashari]

Nadia nodded to Aeris' comment and reached her hand to a soft rope, which she tugged on. Nothing happened for a few flickers, but then an acolyte, dressed in a white robe opened the door. "M'lady?" She asked and bowed to the priestess and the angel in turn. In the young girl's mind Aeris must be someone of great importance to be invited into the High Priestess' chamber.

"Fetch us some tea, please. Bring honey and milk as well." Nadia requested of the alcolyte before returning to her seat. "That should just be a few burns." The Priestess of Anasis said and quickly the young girl disappeared from sight to get what her lady had asked for.

A smile came to the beautiful woman at Aeris' jest. "There is more to me than my religion, yes." She nodded. "I've had much martial arts training, to protect the Temple should the need arise, as well as my magickal training" She said, simply, as if this were totally common. "Aside from those two I'm learned as a healer. Though, I must admit, I know little of weaponry. So, you've got an advantage there." She smiled.

"So, what was your reason for coming here to Abu`Sahir. I assume you are coming from Mu-At, but that is only because of the clime of that location, I would think it would sustain your needs." She seemed very comfortable with what Aeris was, and it wasn't something she was questioning.

[Aeris Mourir]

The common banter seemed to calm the swanmaiden well enough to see a vast change in her posture. Her shoulders appeared to almost sink back, and chest didn't rise and fall so hastily, even her aura sensed to be at piece. Aeris didn't notice such things, but maybe Nadia did.

"I don't really know any specific reasons for coming here ... it was more like I found my way," she explained. "I've never really sat in any one place long enough to call it my own. Well, when I was a child, but that was yahren ago. For now, I float from place to place, learning what I can about anything and everything. I guess Anasis is guiding my path," she finished with.

The woman's eye flicked from one tangible thing to the next. She assumed it was religious objects but she wasn't positive. "Is it this busy every evening?" she questioned.

[Ashari]

"Perhaps Abu`Sahir will prove to be your home. You are welcome here in the temple for as long as you would like to stay. We have plenty of room, and the prayer room you were in before, it is there for your use if you would like to stay there." Nadia said and smiled.

"Oh? Busy?" She thought a flicker on the question. "Yes, I suppose this might seem busy to you, it usually is like this, but during the night we get many of the devout after they've finished their day working, especially the slaves and poor. Those who come during the afternoon are usually aristocrats or businessmen with enough money to not have to worry about keeping a daily schedule."

"It gets even crazier when there are celebrations. Days of Remebrance, or coronations... there are several holidays and the people come out in droves to bring offerings to Anasis and Uphuron. Some make up for the fact they are not religious for the rest of the year by paying large sums to the temple. We wish they would just come weekly, or even monthly." The priestess shrugged and then the acolyte came back in with the tea. "Thank you."

The young girl nodded and folded out legs from under the tray to set it down infront of the couch, as a small table. "Here you go, m'ladies. Tea, milk and honey." She bowed and then turned to leave. The small table sat with a white serving kettle on it, tea steaping within the hot liquid, from which steam erupted. Two empty blue mugs sat on either side of the kettle, as well as a smaller milk carafe and a honey bowl. Two shiny silver spoons sat side by side.

"Please, let me prepare your tea." It was a custom in Abu`Sahir for a hostess to do such, showing her humble nature to her guest, and that she was not below such a task. With supple fingers she picked up a spoon and dipped half in the honey, to pick up the golden sweetener which she then sat in the mug before she lifted the small kettle and poured the brown water into the cup. The hot liquid quickly disolved the sugary substance as she stirred. "There." She handed it over to Aeris before she turned to prepare her own tea, with just a similar hint of the honey and then a drop of milk.

It was an aromatic brew, a underflavor of vanilla seemed evident beneath the sweetened honey exterior. It was very hot, but thankfully not so much as to burn the mouth. "Is it alright?" Nadia asked as she took a sip of her own drink and gave a comfortable sigh.

"You've spoken of your family a few times now.. are they comfortable with your leaving. If you will excuse my lack of knowledge of your heritage, I was under the impression that your kind often stayed together." She was careful not to use the term swan maiden. Even in the sanctuary of the temple, the walls had ears, and something as magickal an amazing as Aeris would fetch a good price on the blackmarket.

[Aeris Mourir]

"Busier than this?" she exclaimed. The rush outside the chamber was the most excitement Aeris had seen in yarhen, maybe even her entire life. Ou, tea the thought, her mind shifting from one scenario to the next.

The maiden sat for a moment, not knowing exactly how to obtain the beverage. She considered just diving in, not literally, but helping herself. The flicker she budged, Nadia offered to make it for her. Good thing I wasn't to hasty about that...

Aeris' posture was a bit more relaxed from several flickers ago. As she patiently waited for her tea, she watched the priestess prepare it for her. Nadia worked with an aura of peace which somewhere in Aeris picked up on.

The woman enthralled the warming mug into her icy hands; her hands were always cold, maybe due to the thinness of it, or just the thickness of her skin. Aeris' palm absorbed the heat, and soon they were much warmer than the back of her appendages. A smile crept across her face and she sipped her tea.

A sweet scent of vanilla evaded her sense of smell and she welcomed it. "It is perfect," she said before taking another taste. "My family approved of my leaving, if that is what you mean. They were not happy with it, but they agreed."

"It's funny that you ask since I can remember them saying that 'I will be faced with hardships; poverty, death, darkness' .. but they always followed up with that 'I would be able to pull through .. because I was a strong willed person with the heart of a true angel," she finished.

She placed her mug back down on the stand, and her hands began to lose the borrowed heat. Aeris reached inside of her top and removed an exquited swan pendant. "The Elder gave this to me the day she cast me out. She told me that I was to leave because if she didn't exile me, I would have never left. I think that my mother had a doing in it ... for my father travelled the world, and told us of wonderful stories. The stories were about the Western Kingdom, Trothgard, Taquar, and many other places. Regardless, I am to remain here for quite some time."

"I like the company," she finally added.[/i]

[Ashari]

Nadia leaned forward as Aeris proudly displayed the charm. "May I?" She asked before reaching her hand up to take it in her soft palm to inspect it a bit closer.

"It's absolutely beautiful" Nadia replied, whether or not the angel allowed her to touch the trinket. "It suits you very well." The priestess withdrew slightly to a more comfortable distance.

"They sound as if they love you very much. That is a wonderful gift, to have such close family." She smiled.

"Do you plan on staying here, or taking residence elsewhere?" She needed to figure out if the swanmaiden would need constant accomodations or if she would be going somewhere else. Nadia couldn't think of anywhere she would be safer, but it was Aeris' decision.

[Aeris Mourir]

"By all means," Aeris said before removing the chain from her neck. "It's quite valuable in every sense," she added.

"We're close because we have to be .. don't get me wrong, I believe we would still live in such quarters if not for such circumstances, but not as close .. if you understand what I'm saying ..."

"As for me, I plan on staying around for a while ... assuming I am not too much trouble," she questioned with an innocent smile.

"I can be somewhat of a needy person when the sun comes out from hiding," she said with an almost dismal attitude.

[Ashari]

"Of course..." She flipped over the swan and examined it's fine craftmanship, as well as the strength of the chain, which seemed durable. "Beautiful." Nadia repeated as she handed back the piece to the equally beautiful young woman before her.

"A closeness of proximaty, you mean? I fear I shared a similar relationship with my parents." The priestess nodded sagely, she had a troubled past, and the turbulance moved behind her eyes, in the safety of her head, rarely allowed to escape from her full lips. She wasn't one to speak of herself.

"Oh! No, no trouble at all." Her expression softened as Aeris commented on her dependance. "Do not be ashamed of needing of others. Everyone needs other people, but many will not admit it. Even the Gods depend on us, Aeris." She smiled. "As much, if not more, than we on them." She took another sip of her warm tea before setting it down.

"But, enough on such topics. I would like for you to fetch the young acolyte that brought us our tea. Tell her I requested that she take you about Abu`Sahir for the evening. I would like for you to see the city at it's best, which is definately after the sun falls." Nadia stood. "For me, however, I have paperwork to tend to, and a meeting with the Rafao which, as I'm sure you realize, I must not be late for."

[Aeris Mourir]

Aeris downed the rest of her cooling tea. She placed the cup on the platter, and looked at Nadia. Her attention was all for the priestess, nodding here and there as she talked about the Gods.

Before she knew it, the conversation was almost at an end, and somewhere inside of her, she missed it. She had longed for idle banter, with someone other than another swanmaiden.

"Really? You would disregard one of your acolytes so I may have a good time? ... either way, thank you. I will be sure to enjoy myself."

With that the woman followed Nadia out of the room, and went in search of the tea-bringer.

[Ashari]

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, Aeris. I'm sure she would enjoy it as well." Nadia smiled. "As much as I would love to keep them cooped up in the Temple all day working to spread the word of Anasis I cannot, they must breathe, or they will lose their fire."

The high priestess bowed deeply to Aeris, her palms together. "Enjoy your night, I will see you in the morning to make sure you make it into the chamber." She stood and then turned away, leaving the swanmaiden to find her own way.

With the hustle and bustle of the crowds one would've thought it would take quite some time to find a specific girl in the sea of other girls wearing similar robes, but the acolyte appeared infront of Aeris. "Hello. You look lost. You were with Lady Nadia, right?"

She was young, with a round face that had yet to be sculpted into womanhood. Perhaps she had seen 15 yahren, but even that was pushing it. Someday she would be a sexy woman that men would yearn for, but for now she was a pretty girl with long legs and arms she still needed to grow into and hair pulled back in a tight braid that snaked down her back. Fluffy bangs covered her forehead, eyebrows, and much of her eyes. She was in need of a good trimming. Pouty lips and flushed cheeks of rose complexion finished out her face. She was adorned in simple blue robes of a fine quality but not much decoration.

[Aeris Mourir]

"Yes, you mustn't be late to such an event," Aeris replied. "I will see you in the morning." and with that Nadia had departed.

The women stepped out of the room, and clicked the door shut, a slight fear running through her bones about leaving her mantle unguarded, but she was in a temple of a powerful goddess, surely her wrath wouldn't go unheeded if Aeris was ever endangered. She let it go and turned to witness a mass of scurrying people.

It took only a flicker or two and the girl who had brought the tea appeared before the swan. "Umm ... no, not lost ... I was actually looking for you," she mentioned. "Nadia has instructed us to have some fun tonight ... or you are to show me around town," she added with a bright smile. "...that is, if you're up to the touring..." the angel said with a joyful tone.

[Ashari]

"Lady Nadia said for me to take you?" She looked a little surprised as she shifted a bit, her too large dark eyes looking around at the many people who darted from place to place. The young girl hadn't thought she would be anywhere else on this evening, so it was a bit jarring to be pulled from her schedule. However, she quickly smiled, quite sincerely, and nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, I don't mind touring one bit. There are plenty of places we could go to, lots to see here in Abu`Sahir."

"Hold on a flicker, and I'll put my robes away." She replied and then turned to a door which she slid into. After just a burn she re-emerged from between two people, wearing a simple white tunic that made her skin appear even darker compared to the blue she had just been wearing. "I don't want to get them dirty, they are quite expensive." The slightest hinting of a blush came to her cheeks. "My name is Akuta, what's yours?"

The young girl walked onward to the door, she expected that Aeris would keep up the pace as they stepped out beyond the temple and into the moderate garden outside, where blocky blue tiles were placed to represent the water, and sand was snaked around to represent the sun. Actual earth was almost invisible as vegetation, mostly sprigs of grass and cacti, covered it.

[Aeris Mourir]

Aeris nodded as the novice priestess question her intentions ... and the intention of Nadia. The young swan reassured her that she wanted Akuta to accompany her, with a slight sparkle to her eyes. Aeris had never really been to the Capitol, so she was assuming it was going to be a fun evening.

Aeris didn't say much as they sped through the temple. She watched the others hurry by, even got a glimpse of some statues and decorative pieces. As they reached the outside gardens, the maiden took a step out and almost went to the imitation-water, but held back.

"My name is Aeris," she finally said. The angel felt that if she could trust Nadia and Nadia placed her faith in this young girl, so couldn't she.

[Ashari]

"Aeris? I like that, it's pretty." The girl said, quite like a girl, actually. She seemed the type, that, if born into a well to do family, would've picked out all the pretty frilly dresses she could find.

Akuta wound through the garden, which was actually a thankful back entrance/exit from the Temple, thay way they could further avoid the hustle and bustle. "So this is your first time in the city? It's a nice place, I've lived here my whole life, in one place or another. Uphuron and Anasis take good care of us." She smiled and lead the angel onward.

"Are you hungry? There are a few different places around to sit and eat, as well as stands with other foods we could just grab on our way by. I'm here at your service, Mi'Lady Aeris." She said. Outside of the gardens torches were lit along the road to light their way. All of the buildings had a golden gleam to them, and sparkled in the light thanks to the sand giving a sparkle to most everything the illuminating fire touched.

[Aeris Mourir]

The swan followed Akuta out of the gardens, weaving through the shrubbery as they went. She thought better of the girl since they had shared their names. Aeris didn't know why a name was so important to her ... she guessed it was the fact that if she ever needed to find them again a name was a good link. "No, I havent .. this would be the first time I've actually been to the city," she replied.

"No as well ... I am not that hungry, unless you are and then I'd eat something," she added. Aeris' gaze fell from staring off at the foliage, to the glimmer of the sands. As she noticed it more and more, the glamour of it all seemed to seep onto the buildings themselves.

"Do the sands always do that? Cast the golden shadow?" she questioned as they walked.

[Ashari]

"Well, you are in for a treat then. It's very nice." She smiled. "Oh, I'm not very hungry really, I ate before services for the slaves began, since I usually don't have time during their visits to eat much of anything." It explained why she was so small in frame.

"Maybe we can pick something up later, if you get hungry." Akuta said as she moved through the garden and then onto the street.

"Hmm?" She looked around to the buildings. "Oh, yeah. It's because of the sands." The girl bent down and picked up a handful of the powdery soil to hold near the torch. In her hand the small particles glittered and shone. "Beautiful, no? There are amazing smiths who create glass sculptures with it. I don't really understand how. They melt it and then create these tubes..." The girl shrugged and continued walking through the backstreet until they reached the open main road which lead from the gates, to the market, past the temple and all the way to the palace of the Rafao where Nadia would be heading soon.

Out on the main road many people milled around waiting for their turn into the temple, or just congregating to converse. As Akuta lead them onward a young man jogged up. "Hey, Kuta!" He said as he approached and smiled a wide handsome grin. He was typical of Amunic guys, with dark skin and shaven head, but he had groomed himself a bit of a fashionable goatee. His clothes were very simple, a tan tunic and loose breeches, actually, very loose, no doubt hand-me-downs.

"Hi Jin." The girl said. "Uhm, this is Lady Aeris, she is staying at the Temple with the High Priestess." He turned his dark eyes to her and smiled, giving a bow.

"Pleasure, m'lady." He lifted her fair skinned hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles before righting. "Jin Thrain." He said. "Of Abu`Sahir. A beauty such as yourself should not be forced to be around these sorts." He looked over to the slaves milling about. "Akuta, why haven't you taken this dove somewhere nice?" His voice was smooth and had a deep rosonance.

"Ignore him." The girl said and stuck out her tongue. "Older brothers can be a hassel." She tilted her head to the side. "Don't you perhaps have somewhere else you can be?" The girl hinted to Jin, but he just shook his head, and took to Aeris' side.

"Can I offer you my arm on this rough terrain, mi'lady?" His dark eyes sparkled in a way, lit from within with his young exuberance. He was around twenty yahren old, perhaps a bit older, but it was tough to tell.

[Aeris Mourir]

“Sounds like a plan,” Aeris commented on the last of the food topic. She had never really ate much to begin with, probably due to her other traits.

“It’s called glass blowing,” she mentioned all so nonchalantly. “It’s actually a lot of fun once you get the hang of it. It’s like a giant conduit for stress too. While you stand there turning the rod with the ball of soft glass at the end, the flames and heat beat against your skin. You concentrate so hard on what you’re doing, everything else seems to float way,” she finished with a serene motion. Aeris had a good life as a child, and even as a young adult but somewhere in there she was hardened, just a little, by life.

With the mere sight of the jetting young man, Aeris subconsciously placed herself behind the novice priestess. The flicker she did it, a thought about what danger she could have put Akuta in, but the man seemed to know her, so the notion was lost in the momentary jolt of fear. The fear lasted as long as it took to come on because he’s actually quite cute,
passed through her mind as she observed him more in suspicion then for anything else.

A beauty?, she contemplated with a barely notable perplexity that played behind her eyes. “You say a thing without any knowledge of me. What if I am some neurotic person with a creepy smile?” she asked, with a beaming smile dancing across her lips. “Besides, are you not of beauty yourself? As with Akuta, and even the High Priestess at the temple? It
seems that everyone is beautiful in their own way,” she added before scanning her surroundings.

“A dove? Although the dove is a graceful creature, and beautiful as well, I think a swan is a bit more appropriate in this sense. I am much to large to be a dove,” she let the joke glitter in her eyes. She knew that it was not literally meant, but as far as they knew, she was simply joking.

It was ironic how her trust theory was being slowly being broken. The first person to ever know about her cursed-gift was Nadia. Through the High Priestess, Aeris was able to place some of that faith into Akuta. It just seemed that by each people having a little trust in one other, Aeris fell into the cycle as well.

“Brother?” she coughed, the simple word catching her by surprise. “I would have never guessed .. well, now that I know, I wouldn’t make a single doubt. It’s not a bad thing, I swear,” she said while throwing her hands up in a I-give-up gesture. They both appeared to be energetic, value the same things, and from the looks of his garments, he was a
worshipper as well, probably for Uphuron, but the two Gods were technically intertwined, so it didn't matter much.

As the playful banter started Aeris knew it was light-hearted. She didn’t really see the point in shooing him away, since if he didn’t want to spend some time with his sister he wouldn’t have sought her out. When Jin stepped to Aeris' side, the swan flicker her eyes to Akuta, searching for an answer. The woman didn’t wait long for an answer, for she acted on her own accord. Aeris liked Jin, and from what she could sense from him he was a good person.

Aeris pushed her elbow outwards in the act that the second guide would take the hint. If he did, and started to wrapped his arm around hers, she would maneuver the arms in such a way that Jin was leading her ... and not the other way around. That bright smile crept to her mouth again, curling her lips into a warming force. Somewhere in the swan, she knew that Jin was trying to impress her ... and from where Aeris stood, he was doing a fine job.

[Ashari]

"Glassblowing.. yeah.." Akuta nodded as she recalled having heard it being called that. "So you do it then?" It seemed as if the angel knew a lot about the subject, and the inherant serenity that tagged along with the passtime. The budding priestess had always found the glass creations absolutely enthralling, so different from eachother with the minute bubbles coursing through the solidified glass as if it were still liquid.

"I know someone who works as a blacksmith during the day to make his living, but he does glassblowing-" She made sure to use the correct terminology this time. "-during the evening marks to pass the time and make some extra coins for his family. Maybe we could stop over there and he could show you what he's got?" It was another of numerous suggestions the girl was considering. She wanted Aeris to have a good time here in Abu`Sahir since that was her duty for the evening, and she couldn't let Nadia down.

As Jin approached and gave the most suave line he could, he grinned at the angel's witty response on his use of beauty. "I can see your smile for myself, m'lady, and it is positively glowing. I doubt neurotic people are as fetching as yourself." He gave a quick wink, and swiftly stepped to her side and took her arm to his own.

"What a lucky man I am this evening to be graced with the company of such lovely women." Jin said, but the compliment was obviously more aimed at Aeris than at Akuta.

The priestess in training wrinkled her nose at the thought of it. "Do you have to sweet talk every girl you see me with?" She looked at him skeptically as he lead the fair skinned lady onward through the streets and past the other prayer-seekers. "Let me warn you, Lady Aeris, that he is beyond charming, do not fall prey to his antics." She giggled a bit at the end of the statement, and she didn't seem at all serious.

Jin smiled, merriment in his eyes. He looked like a happy soul. His body was warm, which Aeris could quickly sense as her thin arm was pressed against his torso, the heat spreading from him to her. Was it merely because of the physical temperature, or the emotional heating? "So what are the plans for this evening, ladies?" Jin looked between them.

Akuta quickly broke in. "I was gonna take her over to Nepmar's place."

"The blacksmith's?" He questioned curiously. "I swear, that is even less of a place for a lady." Thinking for a flicker he tried to come up with somewhere that was more fitting for her. "How about to the library? The magistrate must be gone by now, and he's got that awesome thing that you can see the stars with. It's like a huge spyglass." He said eagerly to Aeris. "I could get us in." He nodded, there was mischief hiding in his thoughts somewhere.

[Aeris Mourir]

Aeris did a little movement with her entire body, signifying that she was being mocked. She laughed as she did it, to clarify that is was in good fun. The angle genuinely liked the girl, she was kind, and real. "Hmm, a blacksmith that does glassblowing?" she voiced the last being accented differently from the rest. The angel acted as if it was a total shock to her, mocking Akuta like she had done her. Aeris laughed some more, almost to the point where she feel over. "Ok, ok, I'll stop," she said in the middle of her breaths.

The secretly winged woman turned her head to the side so she could get a better view of the person she just let get so close. "I am not exactly what I appear," she said.

The questioning by Akuta made the akaward comment subside so she was able to joke some more. "You fancy a lot of girls then?" she inquired in a playful voice. "Don't worry, Akuta, I am not without my own wiles," the angel whispered to the acolyte.

Aeris was distracted again by his warmth. It felt good to have someone to share such a thing with, but the heat the eminated from him was remarkable ... almost to the point of hot. Aeris generally felt like she had a mild fever, for shapeshifters body temperature always run a bit higher than humans and even elves.

Between the two of them, she wouldn't have been surprised if Akuta could feel it herself. Strangely, she wasn't sweating for all the heat that was being produced. Maybe she was just used to, able to build a tolerance to the warmth, it was a good theory on why she liked Amun Rah so much.

His comment brought her mind back to the conversation. Aeris turned her face to the man again and just simply stared at him. She searched into his face, his eyes, hoping to glimpse his soul, looking for something to tell her that he wasn't really this discriminative. She thought maybe he was trying to be more gentlemen-like, but breaking and entering was going the other way.

[Ashari]

OOC: I was gonna post earlier.. but then you kidnapped me, so I didn't. ::giggles::

IC:

Akuta giggled as Aeris moved and then mocked her playfully. The girl gave the angel a soft nudge as if they had known eachother a long time n response. The banter and laughing eased the young girl's worries a bit, as well as made her a bit more comfortable with the swanmaiden who, to her, was practically nobility. Most acolytes came from well to do families within Abu`Sahir, as a person would have to have money in order to be trained to read and write, so it was a logical assumption that Akuta was no exception, but that could mean anything ranging from a good merchant house all the way up through proper nobility.

"Me, fancy a lot of girls?" Jin considered it a moment. "I like to think myself like a good jeweler, who can appreciate the beauty of a gem without touching it, and who knows how to hold out for the very best hidden in the rough." He finally replied, and it seemed the most honest answer in the world, even if it was entirely metaphorical. He glanced over to her and wondered if she liked his response.

It was difficult to see into the soul of the young man before her, he shielded himself behind a high wall, not unlike Aeris herself. He was not a divine being, however, so his reasoning of erecting a barracade would have to be very different from her own. His dark chocolate brown eyes passed to hers for a flicker before he fixated his gaze realizing she was staring at him. "Am I so handsome you can't tear your eyes away, mi'lady?" He asked with a confident smirk pulling at his cheeks, displaying slight dimples for just a flicker before he turned away and looked ahad. It was fairly easy to tell, however, that she was trying to read him, and that made him keenly aware he had made some kind of social blunder with his blustering of attempting to appear to be something other than what he was.

If Akuta sensed he heat bewteen the arm entwined couple, she said nothing of it, and just blissfully continued walking until her brother suggested they go somewhere other than the blacksmiths. "If you knew anything, moron, you would realize that the lady likes glassblowing, since she does it." The young girl looked at her brother as if she had bested him.

Jin tilted his head slightly and then wished he had an equally witty response that wouldn't offend the young woman whose arm he was holding, and enjoying being close to, her fair skin so smooth and silken. The sensation of their joined arms was quite enjoyable to the devotee of Uphuron. "I'm sorry then, mi'lady." He offered. "I did not mean to offend. Perhaps the trip to the observatory would be better saved for another evening. For now, I really ought return to my master's home before the mark draws too late." There was the smallest of emphasis on the word 'master', so light it was barely noticeable. It seemed that it was more aimed at Akuta than Aeris, but it was difficult to tell. He quickly took Aeris's hand and laid a soft kiss upon her knuckles. Jin felt like an ass for his blunder, and he didn't wear shame well at all. "Mi'lady Aeris, Akuta." He offered a smile, but it wasn't genuine. "Enjoy the blacksmith's."

The acolyte wasn't particularly thrilled with the way he had reacted. She hadn't really meant to take him down a whole peg, she was more aiming for a notch or two. "Jin.. you don't have to g-"

But he broke in: "No, really, I shouldn't have been inviting myself along. This isn't my night off. I would've had to leave after a short time anyway. I came out to visit you at the Temple, and now that I've seen you and that you are doing well, I am satisfied. Enjoy the company of your Lady." Jin bowed at the waist and then turned to walk away.

[Aeris Mourir]

Something inside of the human part of the secred swanmaiden clicked, and she felt a little closer to the young girl than she had when they first trailed off from the temple. Through their joking and light-hearted comebacks, Aeris knew that without a doubt that Akuta could be trusted. However, the fearful bird buried inside of her knew that through human condition that Akuta may not have the self-will to resist temptation. On the contrary, children often never to tell the secrets of others unless forced, and since no one knew about the tourist's gift, she was safe from rumors. It was ironic since Aeris played this over in her mind, all the while with a beaming smile dancing across her lips. She went back and forth about how she could place her faith in such a person but still not. Confusing, if nothing else.

Slightly tined orange lips framed her teeth as she smiled, but a flicker after the gem comment, it faded into a press of lips. Aeris liked the answer and somewhere inside of her, it made her mad. She wasn't suppose to be acquiring new friends, even to the point where she wouldn't mind investing more than a simple relationship in any one particular person. She was a swanmaiden, and by that Aeris was suppose to fear people, not grow attached. The more she thought about it, the more is pissed her off. Her mind flashed back to her mother and the rest of the flock. They had preached about fear and how people would use her, and them, at their disposal. As far as the novice maiden knew, she hadn't met anyone like this. Everyone thus far were more than helpful, starting with Nadia, High Priestess at the Temple of Anasis.

A red rush of heat crept up her face as Jin voiced that her gaze was fixed too long. The sudden change of emotion diluted the fear-factor like it was a pesky fly that eventually took the hint. Aeris opened her mouth to say yes, but it was lost in the facial expression that played across his face. "You were cute before, but with the dimples..." she trailed off, the fading blush roaring back to life. She figured with the obvious hint of pleasurable-discomfort, that he wouldn't take the comment the wrong way.

"Akuta," the maiden quickly voiced. "I know you are going to look at me like I have two heads," Aeris pondered the comment and let it go, "but you should value your family. If you don't want to believe me, fine, but I don't have a family to turn to if I ever needed them. Take in consideration that Jin seemed to be looking for you at the beginning of all of this ... just appreciate him," was all she told-asked.

The flicker the acolyte's insult escaped her mouth, Aeris felt her companion tense and hurtfully pull away. Before she knew it, he had kissed her on the hand, and had already turned his back. It had all happened too fast, that Aeris was blinded for a second wondering how this mere person was distracting her so much. Such a distraction had never arose while training with the other swans, maybe it was an emotion she had never experience while being taught self-defense. All the winged-being knew was that Jin was leaving because he felt wrong.

Sorrow washed over the shapeshifter's face. She felt bad for him for him feeling bad. Aeris just assumed that everyone should be rather content with himself and everyone around them. How do I fix this ... furiously pounded through her mind. "Jin," she said. She took those few steps that he had placed between them and as he turned around she stepped in to give him a sweet, delicate kiss on the lips.

[Ashari]

"My dimples, eh?" His smile widened ever so slightly more, punctuating the reserves of cuteness on his face.

Akuta looked at Aeris as she spoke, and really, it was as if she were looking upon an alien form of life. "Yes, Miss." She said mousily. Perhaps it wasn't meant as a chastising from the angel's point of view, but the girl was trained to be proper infront of people who were of a higher level than she, so she quietly resigned to that which Aeris said about her respecting and appreciating her family.

The acolyte felt sort of queasy after the whole thing, she hadn't meant to drive her brother off, even if she was a bit annoyed at his attitude, and his presence. As he turned away so abruptly she shut her mouth, unsure of what else to say to him. She didn't really mind having him around, but it was almost a competition with them, it always had been, and she had won something by getting to be in training to be a priestess, and then she had been granted a night to display what she had learned with a beautiful lady, and then smarmy Jin had sauntered up and stolen her fire.

Jin was another matter entirely. He had merely been wanting to check up upon his little sister to make sure she was doing well, and the added benefit of assisting a maided along for the evening was merely extra in his books. However, he had rightly messed that up by acting more than he was, and he felt as if this was deserved punishment. Uphuron didn't like gloaters.

When Aeris said his name he almost didn't turn around, he wasn't sure if his ears decieved him, or if maybe someone else had called to him, but, he did turn back around to see the glowy girl moving close to him. "Yea-?" But she cut him off this time, with her soft lips against his. His fashionable goatee rubbed against her chin, she could feel the bristly hairs against her soft flesh, but they didn't hurt, they only played against her gently. Surrendering to the moment his hand sought out her waist and wound round to the small of her back where his palm rested. The young man's fingers pressed against her spine cautiously.

Jin allowed her to pull away when she was ready, his face was painted in shock, pleasant suprise. "Well." One of his brows raised playfully. "Wiles indeed." He grinned. It was disarming, bright and wide, the dimples now burrowing in deeply as he displayed the smile and brushed a lock of her light hair from her face, the tips of his fingers just barely touching her cheek in the process. "I will have tomorrow evening off, unless something unexpected comes up, perhaps I will see you then?"

Behind the courting couple Akuta crossed her arms and sighed. She hated when her parents acted this way, and somehow it was worse when it was her older brother. Aeris seemed like a smart young woman, why mess around with him? Slumming it? Plenty of beautiful aristocrats sought the attentions of rugged handsome slave-boys, she had never seen it in action, however.

[Aeris Mourir]

"Tomorrow night would be great, assuming Nadia has nothing planned for me," he answered back. "Don't be so hard on yourself," she voiced before she left him walk away.

The angel turned to witness Akuta not in a pleased state. "What? You started it, with your suave talking," she commented in a light-hearted tone. "Besides, not everything has to be a competion ... I am not a prize you know. If you want to treat me like one, fine, but I am no better than you." Aeris paused to assume that her speech wasn't phasing the girl before her. "Don't worry, I am your friend above all else. Me and Jin may have something, you'll see it some day. For now, want to have some fun??" she asked the last a little child-like. The swan always loved doing things that she enjoyed. Glass blowing, whether watching or performing, was high on her list.

[Ashari]

Jin smiled. "Until then, m'lady." He parted and moved into the crowd. There was a certain swagger in the way he walked now, as if his ego has just been pumped up a bit.

"How obvious it is that you didn't have siblings." Akuta said dryly as she started walking, assuming that the angel would keep the pace. The way Aeris spoke the last bit about having fun, well.. Akuta wasn't too sure about it. She couldn't tell if she was being spoken down to, condescention almost hung in the tone, but it didn't really matter, she continued walking.

"The blacksmith isn't too far from here." She said as her feet shifted beneath her robes. Silently she mused on the woman's words. "As far as being a prize, I'm sorry if it appeared we treated you like an object, m'lady. That was not my intent, and as much as I might nag on Jin, I doubt it was his intent either." The teenager shrugged. "We just aren't used to being around people who are so important. I mean, I still get nervous around Nadia and I've been living at the temple for a few yahren now."

[Aeris Mourir]

"You're right, I didn't have any siblings, but I did have cousins my age and we fought and bickered and tried to out-do each other. That's the closest thing I have ever had to family, other than my parents," she replied before catching up to the obviously distracted girl.

Aeris' mind sped through thoughts like they were as endless as the desert that surround the fair city. The air the hung around the acolyte appeared to have damped to the swanmaiden. She didn't mean to offended the girl, just let her know that Aeris didn't like to be treated as a trophy.

"You were all excited to go and see the blacksmith .. now, it doesn't appear so. We could just go back to the temple if you want." The angel knew she had pissed off Akuta and she wanted to try and fix it. It struck her suddenly, that she always wanted to mend the problems with her friends. There was that word again, friends. Aeris didn't feel like such a great buddy. She was a warrior at heart, a hardened soul that was skittish to the point of paranoia. Her mind began to wander from the task at hand, burying deeper into the consciousness.

Maybe it would be better if I left Abu`Sahir. Although I really do appreciate Akuta's maturity, even her self-preservation. She's a good person at heart and her brother as well. I don't know how to like people or even love them, she left her contemplation unfinished, for reality jolted her back.

"If you are really that upset with the turn of events, you don't have to do any of this. Nadia said you did, but really, you don't ... I will make up some excuse." Aeris could feel her own aura darkening the farther they walked. She hated being around people who were uncomfortable with the situation. Akuta's withdrawal from the excitements of the night proved that she wasn't having a good time anymore.

The swanmaiden found herself searching up into the sky. It was as if the Gods had a sheet of black velvet and just simply threw handfuls of diamonds across it. The sky was intense and Aeris looked at the stars. Why am I here? she asked silently to anyone who was listening. She didn't expect an answer, it was more rhetorical than anything else.