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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 0:44:15 GMT -5
There was a sight to see... Pike had been hiking for days among the plains and forests, away from many of the major cities and even some of the small towns. There was no civilization left in sight.
He had heard the rumor of a city that was established somewhere around the area. Apparently, it was just some kind of... pile of rocks. Oh, well. There was one advantage to it: He wouldn't have to deal with people when he had his next encounter.
Pike took a deep breath and began to walk through the rubble.
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 0:55:41 GMT -5
It wasn't one of those sunny days, the kind she liked when she walked through the threes. She liked to watch the sunlight play on the grass, to feel it gentle touch, like a kind hand stroking her cheek. Yes, that is the feeling she longed for, but as she stared at the gloomy gray clouds, it was clear to her that this was not the way it would be.
Her eyes wandered over the broken ruins, the fallen stones, the echoes of days gone by. Once children had run here, mothers had carried their loads, fathers had gone off on horseback to the village market, or maybe to war. It was a place of lost, forgotten, and long past memories, which is why she had come here. Memories were important to her, and this place was filled they them. How many stories had once been held within the now crumbled walls? Would anyone ever learn of them?
Her thoughts were disrupted by the appearance of another, and she orbs turned to the new figure. Her stray tear was quickly wiped away, and she leaped down from her perch atop a column, placing a smile on her face as she walked out to meet him.
Excuse me!
I cried out, waving my hand back and forth, trying to catch his attention.
Are you lost?
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 1:00:05 GMT -5
Pike, startled by the sudden appearance of this elf-looking woman, turned to her at once. The fact that he was actually being addressed to by a woman-- and quite a pretty one, at that-- entered his mind before most other thoughts. He stumbled over his words.
"Er, um... No, not really, thanks," he called back, continuing to walk as he did.
He always got that experience. Whenever someone was addressing him, he couldn't seem to look him or her in the eye directly. He always found his eyes wandering, and his words almost slurred. Bloody loner's syndrome...
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 1:07:10 GMT -5
I sighed, resting my hand on my hip as I watched him go. I should have just turned around and returned to my place, loosing myself in memories, but I didn't feel like it then. I could see that this guy was going to be my only ray of sunlight, and that fact that we was acting more like a rain cloud then a ray of light in my lonely little world of odd metaphors was getting me down.
I clenched my fist, shaking my head. Was it any use, really? If he didn't want to talk, that was his business. Return to your sorrow, a voice called, return to the forlorn memories.
I jogged after him, ignoring the voice, and instead calling out.
Well, if you keep just wandering around like that, you're going to get lost for sure. What about a guide?
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 1:11:26 GMT -5
Immediately, Pike stopped and turned around to face her. "You know your way around this place? I mean, I guess it makes sense that someone does because it was... wait, it was only recently destroyed, right?"
There he went again, letting his words run out of his mouth before he could think of what he was really saying. Again, he found that he couldn't directly look at the woman before him.
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 1:16:14 GMT -5
Erm, no, actually. I don't really know my way around this place, I always take the same route in and out. And as for it's destruction, I'm not sure when it was pulverized, all I know is that it's not standing now.
Right, good job, now you were making yourself look like an idiot. My perfect plan was quickly failing, and I wasn't really enjoying watching it crumble before me. Maybe it would have been better if I'd just left him alone. ray of sunlight, what was I thinking? I must have eaten the wrong kind of flower again...
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 1:18:40 GMT -5
"Same route in and out, right?" Pike said, trying to get over the embarrassment that he was feeling so involuntarily right now. "You walk through this rubble in and go in..."
He took a deep, frustrated breath. Great. Now he was fumbling over words. Again, he tried: "When you walk in, where do you go within the ruins?"
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 1:24:09 GMT -5
I pointed to a large platform, broken columns and half pillars strewn over the stone face.
Right over there. It used to be a temple, but now it serves as a pretty good reading spot, and sometimes just a quiet place.
I explained, turning back to smile at him. I wasn't sure if he was nervous, if this was how he always was, or if I was just imagining things and had a very good chance of screwing things up by saying something insulting.
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 1:27:05 GMT -5
Narya's thoughts about Pike's manner towards her was a mix of correct answers. For sure, Pike was nervous for multiple reasons. He had a tendency to be a klutz, and he hated to insult people at all.
Pike looked over at where she was pointing. "...There, eh? May I see it for myself?"
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 1:59:06 GMT -5
Uh, sure.
I replied, standing awkwardly in the way for a moment. I had never learned much in the way of manners, so I wasn't sure what happened next. Did I lead the way? Did I let him go ahead? Did I walk beside him? Behind him?
Did it really matter?
I sighed and shook my head again, this time at my own stupidity, and turned to move off down the path, slipping between a few tall boulders here and there.
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 10:40:42 GMT -5
Pike didn't actually expect her to be the one leading... Actually, he didn't expect her to show him the way OR accompany him at all. His loner's instinct said that no one really cared for others so he would have to survive independently.
Which he was doing, but apparently this was an exception. He followed Narya through the boulders and stones, pebbles and dust crunching underneath his feet as they went along.
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 10:50:20 GMT -5
We reached it quickly, and I stood in the center, rather proud of the find. It was more secluded then it looked from far away, the many broken pieces serving well to hide anything you could imagine. In a way, it was almost home to me.
Well, this would be it.
I said, slipping back atop a column and leaning back. Yes, home, as pathetic as it was.
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 10:53:38 GMT -5
Pike, despite how pathetic-looking Narya thought it was, was fascinated. It was probably because of his 7-year-old mind (at least, that's how old HE claims his mind to be) and its attention span. He ran his finger along the broken pillars, the cracked floors. He examined the old, rotting front door.
"...So this was a temple once, eh? I can see why you like to come back here."
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Naryae
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Post by Naryae on Mar 31, 2007 10:59:31 GMT -5
Oh, erm, really?
I replied. I wasn't even sure why I came here, so apparently he knew more about me then I did. Creepy.
So, why are you here, then?
I asked, leaning forward more. My swords clacked against the stone, and I cringed. I hated it when they did that, I much preferred them on my back, but my cloak rested there instead, the vibrant crimson maybe just to flashy. Like I cared.
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Post by Soren [Pike] on Mar 31, 2007 11:06:15 GMT -5
Pike could imagine that the average person would probably like coming back to a place like this-- especially the adventurous soul. The city was completely destroyed, full of potential left to imagination. And it was quiet. Who didn't like a while of silence every now and then?
He continued to run his fingers curiously along the walls and stone. "...I'm here because I was called here," he said simply. And then he heard the clack of her swords.
"I thought I heard swords..." Pike turned to her. "...Are you a swordsman?" He seemed a little more uneasy now than he was at the start of their meeting.
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