Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Moderator: Community Team

User avatar
Elisa
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:33 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Elisa »

Elisa bit her lip when Dway asked about her birthday, but luckily she also asked for orange juice at the same time. This way Elisa could get up and get the drink. It’s not that there was much secretive about her birthday. She just didn’t have the best experience with it. Her dad was always been much more moody and more prone to outbursts around the date. This made her want to not bring it into attention, even if her dad wasn’t around now. As she sat down she placed down the cups with orange juice, one for Dway and one for herself. They were lucky orange trees were so common around here, it wasn’t hard to find oranges at all. Dway was from Bravia, so she’d have much more strawberries around she imagined. Maybe they also had strawberry drinks? She tried to make a mental note to ask it sometime later. Dway had already started answering her previous question about the squirrel. 'He can talk with squirrels? ‘ She’d asked surprised. Though with all the magical creatures around you could wonder when she’d stop being surprised about such things. Magic had been new to her when she came here, along with all the different creatures, many of which with magic abilities. She had gotten used to it but since she wasn’t a magical creature, the idea of magic usually wasn’t the first thing to come to her mind. She’d giggled at the idea of a whole squirrel family sharing house with Dway, imagining them having their own mini furniture next to the regular ones.

She enjoyed the pastry while talking, even taking a second one. They were hers now, weren’t they? She could have multiple if she liked. A slight frown appeared as Dway continued. She wasn’t sure how to respond to Dway’s breaking the windows in response. It did sound like a Dway thing to do. But clearly breaking windows isn’t what you are supposed to do. Elisa wondered how Dway didn’t get in more trouble than she did, or seemed to get into anyway. Not that she wanted this to happen, it just surprised her how Dway seemed to get away with lots of things. Weren’t they angry? The people from the temple? She nodded as Dway explained she found the money at the graveyard. She’d sometimes found money on the streets, though it usually wasn’t much. A silver coin extra was an extra silver coin though, no complaining about that. And she’d found her house…so she didn’t feel the need to ask further into it. ‘You really were poor and looked like a beggar?’ She asked, as it was not the second time in the conversation Dway mentioned it. It still was very surprising to her ‘I wouldn’t have thought you were.’ She added, explaining where her question came from. She hoped it wasn’t a rude thing to ask. Though it probably was… she didn’t like it was pointed out that she was more poor or she had to admit when things were too expensive for her. Though it helped with all the things she had been given, she didn’t look poor anymore. Around that time things had also start to improve for her, weather that was because people started to know her and thrusted more jobs on her, or because of other reasons, she wasn’t sure on. Did it matter? The important thing was that things were a lot better for her now. Dway wasn’t poor anymore though, so hopefully she didn’t mind the question. It was hope giving actually, if Dway used to be poor, then it was proof things could change. Well looking at her own live should have been proof enough that things can change. Somehow it was easier to not always notice these things when they are about you and she still sometimes worried things would go back to how they were. Like a bubble of soap having it’s moment shining in the sun, but being destined to eventually pop. She didn’t want her bubble to pop.

Elisa looked closely at the ring Dway showed her. It wasn’t the most ornate looking ring but it was nice in it’s simplicity. It's a nice ring She thought it was a great idea of Dway to have bought something like this as remembrance. You lived in Fenia? She asked, not quite sure if she already knew this or if she didn’t. she tried to remember what the first thing she bought was. Well, the first things had been food and a room at a tavern if she could afford it. This had been when she travelled with Mantas, before arriving in Widu. In their travel they had also taken time to do jobs, earning food and a bed, or sometimes some money. They didn’t get a bed every night, when they weren’t so lucky they had to sleep outside. Sleeping outside meant she could save some money, but she didn’t like it at all. It was very uncomfortable, cold, and if she was honest she also found it scary. Inside a room she felt more safe. It had taken her a while to get some money together, after all she had left with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. ‘I bought the first thing just before I got to Widu, a cloak, which was nice because winter was starting’ It had been getting colder and colder. One day she was lucky enough to find somebody selling their old cloak. It being a second hand cloak made it a bit cheaper and it wasn’t something that was strange to her. Up till then lots of her clothes had been second hand, so it was only normal for her. Now she had the cloak Zipp gave her for winter, it was much more warmer and magically weather proof. She still had the other one though. When did things change for you? She looked curiously, unsure if she already knew this story or not. She did remember Dway also being an apprentice, perhaps that’s also when things changed.
Image
thanks to Aishe for the banner
User avatar
Dwayberry
Posts: 2491
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:29 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Dwayberry »

Dwayberry took the orange juice from Elisa with a soft smile and sipped before answering.
"He can talk to squirrels, yes. And to a lot of birds, and our cat. I guess he got it from his father, he used to be very good with animals, really understood them, you see." Another sip of juice. "It comes with its advantages and disadvantages."

She smiled seeing Elisa take another pastry, even without asking if she could. Good, she was learning to relax more. After all, she did bring them to be eaten. Following her young friend's example, she took a second one as well.
"Were they angry? Oh yes, I suppose some were angry. Though of course I never broke windows in full view of everybody." She winked. "But for every angry priest, there is a happy mason who gets to sell some window panes. One man's trash is another man's treasure, you know. A little bit of chaos at times keeps life moving forward. Leave water undisturbed in a barrel for too long and it will go stale. Let alone nasty things will start growing in there. The peace must be disturbed every once and a while."
Dwayberry then quietly ate her pastry. She wasn't sure if Elisa understood, let alone agreed with what she just said. It didn't matter. She was glad to see Elisa was content in her little cottage and seemed to be making a good life for herself. She appeared confident enough here to be curious and ask question and Dwayberry had no problem answering them as truthfully as possible. She might have to ask Elisa some more serious questions later. Better enjoy a more comfortable atmosphere now where they both spoke freely.

She grinned when Elisa said she hadn't thought Dwayberry used to be poor.
"Did you think I was noble when we first met?" she asked curiously. Real nobility, as long as they were from older noble families and not the kind that only recently acquired a title, could usually see right through. Dwayberry was very much a typical 'new rich'. One who earned her wealth by herself, rather than inherit it from family. Rich enough to dress and eat like nobility, but clearly a commoner when it came to speech and mannerism. Dwayberry wouldn't have it any other way. Enjoying the perks that came with money, without the burden of a noble family. In fact, she had even turned down the title that was offered to her years ago by queen Scarlette.
"I've been very poor for a while, yes. But things improved after I moved to Fenia. Turned out I am rather good at fishing and there was still a high demand for fish. I already learned to be a miller, so all I needed was the money to have a mill built. There was more work to do in those days. I also worked for somebody for a while... he paid me well. Anyway, all sorts of details that aren't that interesting."

"What matters is, it changed, not because I waited for it, but because I took the opportunities when they presented themselves. And I think you did the same, Elisa. Found a new home, befriended the right people, and well on your way to become an independent tradeswoman. Well done." She offered Elisa a genuine smile, then finished her juice.
"Now then, enough about me." Dwayberry sighed inwardly. It was tempting to keep this a casual, friendly visit, but she felt it important to make sure Elisa understood that living alone as a woman could come with certain dangers as well. She wasn't sure how best to breach the topic, however. Perhaps it was no time for trying to be subtle.
Dwayberry's expression changed to something more serious. "I suppose practising weaving takes quite a bit of your time. Do you also work on being stronger? Train your weapon skills? What is your preferred weapon?"
She exhaled, biting her tongue so she would stop bombarding Elisa with questions and give her an opportunity to answer.
Image
"It's alright, you wouldn't be the same if you were nice."
User avatar
Elisa
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:33 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Elisa »

Sometimes she worried hearing Dway’s stories, getting in trouble so often. She truly wondered how it always ended well for her friend. Though she was glad it did. The part about the water made a little sense to her, sometimes water could start to smell bad if it sat for long. Why that was she didn’t know, neither was she quite sure what Dway meant with the nasty things that would grow in the water. She knew there grew plants in ponds and there can be insects and fish in there as well. But were those nasty? The fish even were a good meal if you were able to catch them. Either way she wasn’t sure if the logic behind it could be easily transferred to disturbing the peace outside of the water. One thing was true, at least the masons got some work out of it then. After all if clothes wouldn’t wear down or sometimes rip, then people wouldn’t need to buy new clothes or get them fixed. If that happened then probably people wouldn’t visit her teacher’s shop as often either. But that wouldn’t make it right for somebody else to rip your clothes up would it? She decided not to go into it any further as they were eating the pastry.

As the conversation continued she nodded to Dway’s question, ‘I did’. She had really thought Dway was noble when she first met her. She wasn’t sure if it was a bad mistake to make, but people would probably mind less if you think they were noble when they are not compared to thinking somebody is a commoner when they were noble? Growing up she hadn’t met many people, learning to pick up the needed social quest and knowing how to respond to things had been challenging at times to learn. Luckily people here all seemed to be very patient with it. She probably still made mistakes sometimes but she’d grown to feel more comfortable and confident in the tavern. This made her more relaxed in her interactions then she used to be, though be it there probably was still room to grow.

She listened to Dways story with great interest. It was quite amazing she’d managed to change everything around so much. From looking like a beggar to being confused with being noble. Elisa looked up a little surprised when Dway said she was on the same route. She definitely looked like a beggar when she arrived, and she did improve greatly already although not to the level of being confused with a noble. She could never have done it on her own though, she’d had lots of help. Without it she might not have gotten further then becoming some wolfs dinner. Yet seeing the progress she did feel a bit proud in that moment and smiled when Dway gave the compliment.

A small frown appeared on her face when Elisa saw the change in Dway’s facial expression. Was something wrong? The questions that were asked then didn’t give sign of something being wrong which made her relax more again. Though there remained some wonder on why Dway’s expression suddenly changed. ‘It does take a lot of practice… My teacher say’s I first need to learn to do some things better before I should learn new things. Because else I might just be bad at everything, and that’s not good. I can work the weaving machine a lot faster already then when I started so now I can also practice with easy patterns as well’ She said to give an example. She thought for a moment on the next question, it was a surprising jump from weaving to being strong and fighting. She had taken some trainings in fighting. Not that she wanted to become a fighter but she didn’t want to feel so helpless any more. She had thought that learning to fight would help in that. A lot of the trainings had also focussed on that, defence, avoiding the attack, getting out of the way. She was better at being agile then at being strong. ‘I uhm did practice some fighting. I don’t think I’m that strong yet.. but I’ve gotten better at avoiding the attack. I think I like the dagger better then the sword because it’s not so heavy. But you do have to get really close for that so I think I like using the staff more. I’m not sure’ She seemed to think on her answer for a second ‘I can sometimes win the practise battles now, I used to always lose, so that’s good right?’
Image
thanks to Aishe for the banner
User avatar
Dwayberry
Posts: 2491
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:29 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Dwayberry »

Dwayberry seemed to be lost in thoughts for a very long time, before blinking and staring at Elisa. She then offered a smile.
"Yes, it sounds like you've improved a lot. Avoiding being hit is a good way to start. You'll need to hit back, too, when it comes to duelling, but when being attacked outside of the arena, when you least expect it, let's say, eh..." Dwayberry cleared her throat, then spoke rather fast. "Let's say, when you find yourself alone in the woods and stumble upon a hunting camp or a group of woodcutters or mine workers who haven't seen a woman in too long, then being able to avoid getting into a fight altogether is definitely the preferred option."

She hoped she didn't need to elaborate on this. It may best to change the topic somewhat, to home safety.
"And, well, now that you're getting more wealthy, it might be worth it to make sure your door and all windows can be properly closed at night. Just in case some thief might be interested in snooping around. They don't always go for the best looking manors, you know. Smaller homes tend to be a lot easier to break into. Anyway!"

Dwayberry smiled. "It's good to say you're doing well and you're happy here, Elisa. Thank you for the orange juice. I should be going soon."
Of course, drop hints of all the risks of living and travelling around by yourself, and then leave the young woman alone to ponder all of that. Nothing wrong with that, right? Dwayberry was happy to help a friend out.
Image
"It's alright, you wouldn't be the same if you were nice."
User avatar
Elisa
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:33 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Elisa »

Elisa frowned at Dway while she was talking. Why would a group of woodcutters or mine workers randomly attack her if she would walk by. And what did not having seen a woman in a long time had to do with it. Does that make you more angry? Maybe they would just be glad they could talk with somebody else for a moment. She liked her friend but sometimes Dway really said strange things. She was just about to ask about it as Dway already continued talking about something else. Elisa should remember to ask about it later. Though the continuation of the conversation wasn’t any more cheerier. Now they were thieves coming to her house? Was Dway trying to make her scared? Just as the thoughts had been planted in her head Dway announced her leave. Just like that? Elisa wanted to protest, but she didn’t want to be rude either. ‘uhm sure, you’re welcome. You can always come visit again. ‘ Once Dway had left the house felt very silent suddenly, she felt an unease she had never felt before while inside her own house. As Dway had left she decided to bolt the door.. for now, just in case.
Image
thanks to Aishe for the banner
User avatar
Elisa
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 7:33 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Elisa »

(ooc: this is a summary of a camping trip Anno and Elisa took past winter, It took me way too long to write but I wanted to place it out here anyway)

Elisa had agreed to meet up with Anno outside of the tavern. They would go to a frozen lake and have a camping trip there, a date…. She felt nervous for it, she really liked Anno and didn’t want to mess things up. At first she had been a bit reluctant to accept his advances and to admit to the feelings. She had worried about what if things go wrong again. Her previous relationship hadn’t worked out. A lot of this was because of external factors. Azrail was developing his magic and bad people were after him for exactly that. When he had asked her to just be friends, she had agreed to it, however she had still been very hurting from the breakup. It had been the first time she experienced these things after all. Despite knowing the reasons she couldn’t help but sometimes think she also must have done something wrong. Above all after this Az had disappeared for a while, she had seen him again afterwards putting her mind at ease that he hadn’t died. However, it did had her scared it would happen again. Talking with Varann had given her the insight and courage to do dare it though. And with Fallon’s help and some mistletoe it had been the start of their relationship.

Of this worry was not much left at this moment as she’d given in to being in love and was head over heels at the moment. She liked how Anno made her feel. She’d still have some insecurities but knew she liked being with him. Her first date with AZ hadn’t been the most successful of dates, hopefully her first date with Anno went better. The arrival of Anno had brought her out of her pondering and put a smile on her face. While she was nervous she was also excited, it was going to be an adventure! Together they walked into the forest. Elisa was happy that Anno had already made a path for them to walk on, it had been snowing for days and this made it a lot easier to walk through the forest. When they were walking on the path for a couple of minutes Anno seemed to think it wasn’t going fast enough. She yelped when he picked her up, much to her surprise. Apparently Anno had the skill of running faster than normal, for humans anyway. He took off with great speed, causing Elisa to wrap her arms around him, to hang on tight. It was scary to go so fast, but also somewhat exciting. At this speed it didn’t take them long to get to the lake Anno had discovered. He’d spend time preparing it, shovelling snow away, and it looked really great. Next to the lake there were tents set up along with a campfire. On the lake itself a part of it was made snow free so they could skate on it. Anno had made some weird looking contraptions which turned out were meant to be put under your shoes. They looked like knives that had a bend at the end. Anno explained her this would make the skating more easy. This didn’t make much sense to her however. Standing on ice was hard enough when standing just regularly on your feet, how would balancing on such a tiny thing to stand on help in any way? It turned out, it didn’t help with the balancing, but it made you glide better.

The balancing turned out to be even more difficult then she expected. By the end of the evening she would have lost count at how many times she fell over and ended up sitting on the ice instead of standing on it. Luckily Anno came to the rescue. He didn’t seem to have the same problem, he stayed up very well and even managed to look graceful at the same time. It had gotten her distracted a couple of times, where she’d be watching Anno skate instead of thinking what she was doing. Which ended with her sitting on the ice again. Once Anno was helping her, holding her steady, she did manage to stay up right. Making the ice skating a lot more fun instantly. She got to hold Anno and be close to him, and after gaining some more confidence she actually starting to enjoy gliding over the ice. It did feel quite special to glide so smoothly over the ice, maybe it was because she hadn’t done it before? Maybe it was always like this? Time would tell probably. The more the evening progressed the more fun she had. Even managing to stay upright by herself for a moment while Anno was showing some tricks. For the skating part itself, as in actually moving, she preferred to have the security of added support, like Anno holding her hands.

As fun as the skating had become, the sun decided it was time to go down and as it was becoming more dark they left the ice to head to the campfire. They had brought a fish and it was now time to cook it. Sitting by the fire also gave them some opportunity to warm up again. Being outside the whole day cooled you down quite a bit, even if you were dressed warmly. The fish seemed to taste extra good for some reason. After eating they stayed seating outside for a while, despite sitting by the fire it started to cool down quite a bit. Anno showed her how they could heat up the tent without making a fire in it, by placing stones that were in the fire inside the tent. As the tent was now heating up they decided to go in there. Anno had placed lots of furs inside as well. It surprised her at first he had so many, but then she recalled he did some hunting and trading as well. He might have collected them in one of those ways.

The thought of them sleeping in the same tent later on still made her feel a little awkward. They would be sleeping separately of course, but still in the same tent, somehow this made her feel a bit nervous even if she didn’t really know why she was so nervous about it. She noticed she felt quite shy about it, she couldn’t change in front of Anno could she? Or was that something that was alright? Perhaps she’d just ask him to wait outside, he wouldn’t object would he? Being lost in thoughts she was a little surprised as Anno gently pulled her arm, so she’d sit next to him. Of course…she’d been standing there in thought, she must have looked like an idiot just standing there… she blushed a bit, but Anno didn’t seem to mind as he put his arm around her. It was like Anno knew some magic, just his touch made her feel more calm and safe instantly. They were just talking now but she enjoyed it never the less. Feeling more and more comfortable she even leaned into Anno and rested her head against him. They slowly shifted to a more cuddly position and she could fully lean back against him now. They were still talking, Elisa was trying to ignore her growing tiredness, she was enjoying sitting like this and she didn’t want to break it. Also it would bring back the awkward situation.. no it was best to remain awake and keep talking some more. …

Opening her eyes slowly she realised she’d fallen asleep! She felt so embarrassed, she couldn’t even stay awake. Anno was still holding her, he must have been quite uncomfortable sleeping like this. With a strong blush forming she sat upright again, apologising to Anno for falling asleep like this. He told her he didn’t mind at all, placing a kiss on her forehead. How did he never seem to mind when she did something silly or embarrassing? She liked it though, her confidence growing each time. At least they had avoided the awkward moment of going to bed… in some way. When Anno had left the tent Elisa freshened up a little and followed him out a bit later. While she was getting ready a realisation hit her. She’d slept with Anno! Of course she had literary, just slept. She remembered being told though, if you sleep together you get pregnant. And it had her worried quite a bit. Later when the trip was over she would go to Zipporah and ask. It would lead to a very awkward conversation, but resulting in the knowledge she wouldn’t be pregnant and a later follow up conversation as to educate her more and get these misunderstandings out of the way. Despite thinking it wouldn’t be possible, this conversation would be even more awkward then the first one had been.

The rest of the day they would go and check on traps that Anno had set out earlier. Elisa hadn’t done any hunting before, she was curious to see how it would go. Perhaps she’d even learn something. It was of course quite different from yesterday but Elisa doubted it would matter what they were doing. She just liked spending time together with Anno. They had even managed to caught something. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and despite feeling a little sad for the creature she knew this was their dinner. Anno showed her how to prepare the Animal after it was caught. Perhaps not the most romantic moment of the date, but a useful skill to have nevertheless. She had prepared some fishes before, but everything hunting related was new to her. That wasn’t something for girls, her father had thought.

The rest of the day passed too soon as well. After the campfire dinner it was time to head back to the real word. She hoped they’d come back here some time though. It had been an amazing time and despite not being that far from the tavern, nobody had come here. Maybe that was because it was winter though, after all what would you want with a frozen lake? Apart from skating, she now had learned. Or they had been further out then she thought they were, as Anno also did the fast travel back home, she never really knew.
Image
thanks to Aishe for the banner
User avatar
Anno_Koji
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Nov 27, 2020 1:47 pm

Re: Elisa's cottage (IRP)

Post by Anno_Koji »

He was ecstatic, finally he found a girl that was…. sublime… and not only that, she was clever and well mannered and made his mind go bonkers, and she agreed to a date! A date! With him! Little more than a beggar he found someone that seemed to liked him for who he was! This better be perfect or he wouldn’t forgive himself!

He spent the day before and most of the night setting up traps for small game and clearing a camp site and the lake for them to skate on, and making sure the blacksmith didn’t mess up his order. Hoping everything would be alright he put most of the best furs he saved for himself on the floor of the tent, keeping a couple of the ones that were burned so they could warm the tent up without damaging new ones.

Finally, it was time to meet up, with his heart in his throat he went to meet up with her, exited to see her reaction to what he prepared, nervous that it would be another flop in his live, positive that he will impress her, hopeful that he wouldn’t disappoint, seeing that it was taking them too long to reach the lake he took her in his arms as he channeled Ki in his legs and sped up, using his familiarity with the area to reach the lake faster.

The skating went well, he helped her out with getting the basics down so she would have fun, and showed what he could do, hoping to swoon her some more, feeling a bit reinvigorated displaying his skill for another to judge, later in the day as the sun went sorrowfully down in the sky, just WHY did the day have to end‽, he lit a fire up to warm them back up and the tent with heated stones, hoping she would like the way it is decorated, dreading that she would not. As they talked into the night and with her resting against him he became more and more relaxed, and when he noticed she fell asleep he kissed her forehead and tried to get comfortable while supporting her still, covering them in some furs that were within reach.

That was… the most refreshing sleep he had in a while, even if he had to use some of his Ki to relax some muscles so they wouldn’t hurt, he realized how much he missed sleeping in the embrace of another, he smiled again and kissed her forehead as they got ready for the day, checking the traps he set earlier and finding some game in them, he showed her how one would skin and gut them to prepare them to be eaten, hoping to not scare her away but show he knows how to take care of someone, putting pelts away to dry for later, maybe he could make a nice present for her later once they are cured and he would find someone to make maybe a pair of gloves, maybe a nice scarf, he was sad the day was ending as he took her back to town, hoping, against hope in his somewhat desperate mind, that it went well and that they would see her more in the future.
Image
Post Reply