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Post by Azalea Euanthe on Apr 27, 2023 22:24:45 GMT -5
Sometimes, Azalea just liked to visit back home. It was relaxing, most of the time, to go from a huge bustling city, one that is always moving, and breathing, to something else. The small cities surrounding the oasis, including hers, were often very quiet, like little sighs in comparison. This time was no different. She had strolled back into town not long ago, but already she was noticing something off. There were far more people than usual in her little town. She usually got some dirty looks, a sneer or two, when she walked past her old school mates, but they were not where they usually were. While that was not a loss to her, it was an anomaly.
Azalea, with obvious confusion in her face, she beelined towards her mother. “Mama. Where is everyone?” She questioned, stepping up to give her a kiss on the cheek and a hug.
“Oh, Darling! Apparently there’s some famous adventurer here! He says he’s just some guy, but one of your friends –” “Mother I don’t have any friends here–” "had recognized him! Oh, they are all just fawning over him in the city center!”
Azalea pursed her lips, humming slightly. “Why would a famous adventurer be here? This place is barely on the map…” Her mother just simply shrugs in response, and Azalea sighs. “Here, mama. I brought some gifts!” She set down a bag. “Why don’t you, Papa, Daisy, and the boys open them up. I can go see what’s going on!”
While the group settled in for a moment, she said her hellos, and then headed off towards the center of the city. A little market area that had been set up with stalls and a well in the middle of it. There was often a group of people here, and her mother also had a stall somewhere in this mess. But now, the entire thing was full of people. Azalea walked up, pushing her way through the crowd to try and find the person everyone was surrounding. “What in the hell…” She mumbles, the confusion in her face very clear.
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on Apr 28, 2023 15:19:31 GMT -5
Ah, traveling through the desert. Something that Ulrich was not a stranger to at this point in his life. He’d spent a good chunk of his life exploring Charon on his own. Still, he always managed to break a sweat every time he found himself in Zeinav. Of course, it was for good reason.
The sweltering heat emanating from the desert floor distorted things in the distance. The sun beamed down on you mercilessly and water sources were scarce. You needed to be prepared to travel in such an unforgiving place.
He’d made it one of his destinations, albeit, to replenish his resources before heading out again the next day. The Oasis was a trading post of sorts, but it had established itself a small town for travelers and the like to rest their weary bodies, and Ulrich was going to certainly take his time resting here.
The townsfolk probably did not expect to see a man walking into their town with a Behir wrapped around his shoulders. There were small whispers, chuckles, and some stared for a couple seconds before whisking their eyes away. All of it made Ulrich smile to himself.
Lil Frijole, on the other hand, was busy having his eyes dart back and forth everywhere. He’d never been to Zeinav before. His Dad only just started taking him on his travels. His brother got to stay with their mother. A better combination, is what the young Behir thought to himself. No doubt, Mother would find herself getting into trouble, and Nimbus— the more responsible sibling— would be there to help her get out of a pickle.
The mustache situated upon Lil Frijole’s face wriggles, “Father, some of them are looking at us weirdly. Do they have a problem or something?” To most people all that sounded like was squeaks and purrs, but Ulrich could understand every bit of it.
“No Son, I’m sure they just didn’t think they’d see a man walking into town with a Behir like this. Not quite a pairing you see every day.” Ulrich answered back with a chuckle.
There was no answer from Alvis or Xavier on the matter. They must be resting themselves.
The center of town was bustling to say the least. There were a good amount of people out there on this day it seemed. He’d found a nice spot sit at the inn nearby. Underneath the shade to try and cool off from the sun. He pulls out two chairs from the table, and the young Behir hops onto one of them. Ulrich places his satchel on the table before removing his coat, folding it, and setting on the table as well.
He plops down onto the chair exasperated, “Ahh! That’s better! Out of the heat and cooling off!” He wiped sweat trickling down his forehead.
Their little moment of tranquility is short lived however. A group of teens approaches him and the young Behir. He gives them a warm smile and a nod. Lil Frijole stares at them inquisitively.
“Excuse us Sir, we couldn’t help but notice you waltzing into town. You’re an adventurer, are you not, judging by that thing there on your hip,” one of them asks.
Ulrich looks down to his hip to see Alvis in his scabbard on full display. A good observation by the kid. Before he could answer, another one of them spoke up.
“Wait, the Behir! I think I know who this is!”
Lil Frijole looks to Ulrich with a puzzled look. They exchange glances and Ulrich turns back to them to answer.
“Yes, well I’m a part time adventurer and full time traveler. I assure you I’m no one of importance. Just some guy, really.”
“By the gods, you’re that traveler, Ulrich Ambriz!” One of them exclaims. It was enough for passersby to hear clearly.
“Uh, yes that’s me. How do you know me exactly?” Ulrich was quite surprised now. He always made sure to keep a low profile. How did these people know him?
“We’ve heard stories from other traveling merchants and adventurers here! They’ve told us stories of a bespectacled traveler accompanied by a Rabbitaur woman going out of their way to commit great acts of kindness and heroism!”
Oh boy… It seems that the good deeds have caught up to them now.
A crowd was forming around them. Attracted by the noise the group of teenagers was making.
“And they’ve also said that they were accompanied by a young drake and a behir!” Someone from within the crowd shouted.
“Ulrich Ambriz and Leni-Aura Thunderpaw!” Another shouted excitedly.
Their excitement was overwhelming. Ulrich didn’t know he had a growing reputation now. He’d spent the better part of a decade traveling underneath the public’s eye. A good deed here, a good deed there. He was fine with being unnamed, unnoticed, an enigma. He couldn’t deny it, however. He and Leni had done many good things in their travels, and now, it was definitely being noticed.
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Post by Azalea Euanthe on May 1, 2023 15:48:37 GMT -5
Azalea makes her way through the crowd as people yelled, cheered, and screamed. Of course, at the center were two people, around her age, talking to this poor man who was just trying to relax. She groaned when she saw them. “Garret, Whim, what’re you doing?” She exclaimed, pushing up to get in front of the two. “How rude of you to bother this poor man whilst he is just trying to relax. Everyone needs to disperse now, please!” She yells the last bit as loud as she could. Garret just rolls his eyes. “Lea. I thought you were still in the big city, trying to make a name for yourself. What are you still doing here? Aren’t we a little below you now?”
Azalea pauses for a moment, a little shocked at the presumption her old classmate made. She stutters a bit, trying to find a response. “I’m here visiting mama and pa! Wha– Why would you think such a thing?”
“Well it’s not like anyone wants you here anyways!” Azalea shrinks a little, crossing her arms and looking at the ground. “Garret! Stop, you’re being cruel! This is still my home, and this isn’t about me…!”
“This is not your home anymore. You lost that right when you decided to leave! You think you’re better than us now? You think you’re on HIS level now?!” Garret points to Ulrich. “You’ll NEVER be like him, Azalea!”
Azalea was simply shocked into silence for a moment, holding back tears. “T-this does not… You do not have the right to –”
Garret pushed Azalea, forcing her to fall to the floor. “You stay out of the way, Euanthe.” He spat
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on May 2, 2023 5:32:03 GMT -5
Ulrich watches as the young woman is turned upon by the two teenagers that were excitedly questioning him just moments ago.
What was with the hostility? She’s definitely from this place, why is she being treated this way for leaving town?
Tensions were rising as the two argued in front of him. He sensed the oncoming snap growing closer.
And then the kid goes to shove her to the ground.
It was a quick instant. One moment Ulrich was sitting in his seat, and in the next, he wasn’t. A small gust of wind blew gently through the crowd. Gasps rang out as they realize that Ulrich was now kneeling at Azalea’s side. He’d stopped her from hitting the ground hard.
His voice was stern, “Where I come from, a little respect goes a long way, kid.” From behind his glasses, a slight glare could be seen shooting right at Garret. Then it fades. It fades into a warm smile. “Now I’m not going to make you say sorry. You should know better than to go around shoving young ladies like that.” He might’ve been wearing that warm smile, but there was a hint of coldness in his voice.
Lil Frijole sensing Ulrich’s energy, hopped up onto the table, teeth bared, growling at Garret.
He waves at Lil Frijole; signaling him to stifle his aggression. The young Behir complies; hiding his chompers behind the mustache he wore upon his lip.
Ulrich helps Azalea up from the ground, “Are you okay, Young Miss?” He then points to the table he was just sitting at moments ago. “Why don’t you have a seat at the table?”
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Post by Azalea Euanthe on May 2, 2023 21:38:39 GMT -5
Garret scoffed. “There’s no way in hell I am apologizing to her. Gods, are all of you adventurers like this? Sure am glad you all barely stop by then.” Garret kicked some of the dirt towards the two of them and turned. “Come on guys! Let’s ditch these fools.” With that, the crowd disperses, leaving the three alone.
Azalea was more still than a statue. She had expected to hit the ground hard, so she was curled up a little, her hands covering her face, and then moving up again to protect herself against the dirt. Still tensed up, she looked up slowly as Ulrich spoke, and as the boys left, she relaxed, just a little, her face reddening almost to the same shade as her eyes.
“I-i’m f-” She held back a small sob, and looked away as she held back tears. She pulled her legs up to her chest and covered her face in the fabric on her leggings. It took her a moment to gather her composure. “N-no, I’m… I’m okay.” Azalea finally mustered with a shaky voice, clearing her throat, wiping her face and forcing a smile up at him. “I will take a seat though…” She stood up, dusting herself off as she found her way to the table. “I’m.. Sorry. I didn’t mean for all of that to happen….” Her face had reddened up again, and she refused to look directly at him. “I probably shouldn’t have… Gotten involved. But the people here can be quite invasive. We–” She pauses for a moment, and clears her throat - “They - don’t get a lot of adventurers out here. If I can ask… Why are you here? This place is barely on the map…”
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on May 4, 2023 5:11:32 GMT -5
“Of course, have a seat.” He says to her, leading her towards the table and pulling a seat out for her.
He takes the seat across from her and Lil Frijole scurries onto the top of the table; resting next to Ulrich as the two converse.
“Oh no no, it’s all well and good. You were only doing what you thought you should do. I appreciate that.” He says, giving her a gentle nod. Lil Frijole offers a whimper and a purr as he looks from Ulrich to Azalea across the table.
He smiles at her question. It must’ve been strange to see someone waltz into a town that is barely on the map. Especially someone who apparently has the type of reputation that he has. He wasn’t even aware that rumors of him were spreading around like that. If you were to ask Ulrich, he’d tell you that he wasn’t really that much of an adventurer. In all honesty, the things he’s done for people on his travels was all because it felt like the right thing to do for any upstanding individual.
“Well, truthfully, I’m just here for a bit of rest. As I said before, I’m just a traveler. I go wherever the wind takes me. So I guess you could say I just happened to find myself here by chance.” It was then that a gentle breeze seemed to pass through, as if on queue. “Though, in my experience, most of the time chance has nothing to do with where you land.”
He spares a look at some of the bystanders still lingering and staring at the two of them. “So, Lea, was it? Is it right for me to assume that it’s short for something?” His head turns away from the bystanders; returning back to the young lady sitting at the table with him. “I heard the kid saying that you were in the big city making a name for yourself? That sounds interesting. Would you mind telling me what a kind young lady, such as yourself, has found herself doing since she left here?”
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Post by Azalea Euanthe on May 4, 2023 15:28:21 GMT -5
The stares at the remaining bystanders was making Azalea a bit uncomfortable. Nonetheless, it only showed through her running her hands over her leggings. Thankfully, her face had dried up, but she could still hear the whispers and mumbles. ‘Oh, that poor girl. Oh. how unsettling for her. How unfair.’ Yet, nobody did much to stop it, except for Ulrich. “Chance is a tricky thing, and often can be mistaken for coincidence. Something I’ve been taught is that coincidences do not exist. Something I’ve always believed is that the universe always has a plan. I’m sure wherever you’re headed, is the place you’ll need to be.” She responds, a small smile showing on her face as she looks up at him.
“Oh, my name’s Azalea. Though, that is a bit of a mouthful sometimes, so I go by Lea sometimes. I’m just here visiting my family! I took up an apprenticeship under a private investigator in Zeinav city, and my old classmates really think that anyone who leaves town is just trying to make a name for themselves - I’m sure they think we should all just be happy and stay in our little village but… They made it very hard for me to happy here in the first place.” She pauses for a moment, and then starts to shake her head. “I don’t mean for that to sound so upsetting. I was happy! I am happy, and I’m sure I’d be happy anywhere. I just never belonged here, and that’s okay! Though I still have my little siblings to worry about, and my parents are getting older, so… I get worried, you know?” Good gods, shut up Azalea. He does not need your life story. She closes her mouth, staring down at her hands again as she fidgets, pulling some of her skin a little.
A little pixie pulls herself out of Azalea’s sleeve, and pushes her hands away to stop Azalea from making herself bleed. Barely noticeable, but Azalea smiles as the pixie looks up at Azalea, sitting in her open hand, and chirps angrily at her. “Petunia, please. We’re with people.”
More angry chirping noises. A slight sigh of exasperation from Azalea.
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on May 7, 2023 14:51:26 GMT -5
Ulrich nods in agreement at her thought. He leans back onto the wall behind as he stares off into the distance; ignoring the bystanders quite obviously still lingering to see and hear the two converse. It was like they weren’t even there to him. He’s had the better part of a decade to practice phasing out everyone else around him that looked at him like that.
“Yes. I’m quite certain of that as well.”
She states that she’s taken apprenticeship under a private investigator in Zeinav. He has a flashback to a time he met a private investigator through a previous dangerous situation. Could the young woman be talking about the same person? Could she be referring to a certain private investigator by the name of Issala Arodre? ...Or Izzy for short as he was told.
It seemed that Lil Frijole had the same thought as well— seeing as he lifted his head slightly and chirped up at Ulrich. The man gently pets the young behir as he lowers his head back down onto the table.
It was certainly interesting that they might know the same person. He would make sure to ask Azalea of her mentor's name at some point.
His attentions are brought back to the present as she mentions her family here in town. He can understand fully her concerns about them. Being away from your family traveling out in the world is not an easy thing to get accustomed to.
“I absolutely understand your concerns. My mother and father are long retired from their adventuring days. You can’t stop Father Time from getting to you eventually.” He chuckles as a picture of his parents forms in his mind. He swears he can almost feel the gentle embrace his home in King’s Valley. “Really, I worry about my father. He was never the fighting type; although I’ve been told that he’s never ran from a fight. He just outlasts the other guy. My mother, on the other hand, is a warrior through and through. I would not want to be on her bad side, even at her current age.”
Lil Frijole senses the stirring of something out of sight which brings him to lift his head again. His head tilts as he hears the angry chirps of something.
“What is it, Bud? You hear something?”
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Post by Azalea Euanthe on May 21, 2023 23:37:04 GMT -5
More chirping, and Azalea just gently picks up Petunia, putting her on the table. “Oh-KAY, I’ll stop!” She replied to the chirping with exasperation. Once the behir takes note of the noise, Azalea giggles. “I’m sorry bud! It’s just my little friend, Petunia! She hates when I pull my skin, it is quite the bad habit!”
After the interaction, Petunia would sit in Azalea’s hand, looking up at the behir, and chirping gently. Azalea, on the other hand, would go back to conversing. She did notice the small interaction, and the glimpse of something in his expression as she mentioned a private investigator. She smiles gently. Lea would remember that for later. It didn’t surprise her, of course. Izzy was rather famous. Or infamous? Lea hasn’t figured that one out yet. Still, getting back on the topic, she nods when he mentions his mother. “Were they adventurers as well? Oh, how I love the idea of exploring, and being able to go wherever I’d like. Everyone seems to think I’m a bit too young to do that for now. But one day…”
There were so many things she wanted to do. Figure out where she came from, see flowers from every country, meet people from every country. The idea of it made her sigh. “You must have some great stories.”
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Post by Ulrich Ambriz on May 29, 2023 15:56:05 GMT -5
Lil Frijole offers the fairy gentle chirps of his own and he places his head back down on the table.
Ulrich chuckles to himself as he remembers all the tales that his parents told him when he was a child. Stories of countless adventures and meeting people who would eventually become lifelong friends.
“They were adventurers at one point, yes. They’d been on a few of their own before they met, countless more after they had.” Another chuckle escapes him, “And then they decided to settle down. I guess it was because they were expecting, and maybe they’d had enough adventuring in their lifetimes.”
He remembers the day he left King’s Valley on his own adventures. Gods, that was a long time ago now. He’d been on traveling on his own for ten years now.
“Where I come from they train you for years. Preparing you for the outside world so that when your 18th birthday arrives, you’re ready to venture out into the world if you so choose. I’ve been out on my own for a decade now.”
Azalea mentions that he must have some great stories to tell. Most of them are not that interesting, he thinks to himself. Then again, some of them have to be interesting enough. People had recognized him as he waltzed into town.
“Some of them are interesting, yeah. Most of them are not if I’m being quite honest. I’ve tried to stay in the shadows as much as possible when it came to traveling about Charon…” He spares a look around at the town, “A growing family consisting of creatures that use lightning probably doesn’t help a whole lot with that though,” he says with a laugh.
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