Avakaron ⇒ [Completed] Market at Sea

[Solara Ekin]

Winter 19/320

Solara sighed as she looked at her list of ingredients that she needed to get for her birthday in a few weeks. The sun is high noon with a touch of snowfall padding the ground, Solara was dark-skinned with black curvy hair and green eyes. She was wearing her jacket today to help her face the winter day while she was out shopping for food. Her father also went out to do shopping with Master Eachan and went with their wives as well, they said that they will be back probably before or after she returns as well. Solara was fine with it, she wanted as much alone time as she can with the last few weeks being pretty eventful in an almost bittersweet way. Her mind was constantly on the boy from the Runistics Center, she wondered how he was getting on. Maybe she could pay him a visit one day when she finally learned some more common from her father.

Solara was also grateful for the early time off from work, she had been doing a lot of heavy lifting more so than actual blacksmithing. While it didn’t really bother her really all that much since she would be supporting the shop with all the new material that they were receiving and it would also give her more material to practice on in the back since her father is now starting to teach her a few more techniques for her to perfect.

Again she sighed, she wanted to sink her teeth into the business side of things and she has learned a lot all her life, she wondered if she can really call herself an apprentice anymore. But, perhaps the definition of an apprentice is different depending on the job, maybe she overestimates her own ability and just simply needs to put her nose to the anvil. Then again, she remembered discussing the program for simply learning basic rigen to potentially up to master if she really worked at completing her studies to be a master Rigenologist. While she understood the reasons for her doing this was limited to making her life easier in the shop and it now only occurred to her that she was doing this for a very selfish reason. Although to be fair, Rigen tends to be a very selfish tool that anyone can force their will onto it, whether or not it’s from within or without. Unless someone told her otherwise that Rigen actually flows through all life and you don’t exactly force it to your will, she will continue to think this way.

The snow crunch as she continued to walk towards the market and her thoughts went on to Boga, wondering if he was going to be ok. While he seemed to be up for going to her party, she wasn’t entirely sure yet since he was pretty upset after he hurt Quent’n. She didn’t blame him really, if she were to crush someone much smaller than herself out of simply being happy to meet them, she would hate herself for what she did.

Her mind soon wandered to Eskk and her thoughts are starting to swirl with a bit of confusion. Was Eskk just pissed off in the moment and he simply pointed fingers at her for the simple fact that the ones who made Boga carry a shark were human. Or did he mistake her for being the humans from the shop and believed she was in the wrong when Boga was bleeding. Perhaps he simply didn’t see everything and ended up blaming her on accident, people can get really emotional when someone gets hurt, Solara would know.

She looked up and at the temples that she was passing by on her way to the market, wondering about the Sermon that he did and wondered what was said there. She felt bad that she didn’t attend as she is religious and wanted to pray to the gods, but she has been bad about not going to the temples to worship when she is cooped up in the blacksmith shop all day and every day. However, Eskk did leave a bad taste in her mouth, he was simply calling for help and she came to do so. He immediately accused her, which was something she didn’t want to deal with when she was helping someone. Solara knew that she went a bit far in regarding racism, what if she was dead wrong and he was just simply mad, accidentally letting the history of their species boil over. Perhaps he’s a nice guy, however she wouldn’t vouch for him if he fucked up in any way. She didn’t want anything to do with any of his potential shenanigans or worse to get in trouble, he also didn’t seem like a trustworthy person. Her mind kept leading her to the fact that he will do a similar thing and she will need to see him do some actions that will change her mind.

But for now, she needed to get some food for her birthday party and there will be a lot of guests. Solara entered the market area and started to go to the fish section to see if she can find any sort of salmon that her father can cut up and cook.

[Currituck Itavi]

This little sailor has come to the market for some writing utensils! Last time he was at sea, Currituck had thought up a little to-do list for himself, but had nothing to write it down on or with.

Currituck scrunches through some untrodden snow as he enters the marketplace, then looks behind himself at his footprints. The snow is scuffed and slung around the imprints of his boots. Currituck frowns. I need to pick up my feet more... He lifts his knees higher when he takes his next few paces, turns around to check again, and smiles at the clean recesses he's created, which are then trampled by another shopper. Currituck turns around and sighs, then beelines for the stationery seller, cleanly trampling the footprints of scores of other shoppers.

He purchases ten sheets of paper so he can write to his heart's content. And he also purchases a quill and a small jar of ink, because he's not tossing a rock at a seagull and harpooning an octopus just so he can jot down a to-do list and other ramblings on his new paper.

As he departs the stall with his new stuff, Currituck notices a shopper shorter than him a the fish stall. Are they a human? He can't tell for sure from behind. They could be a Hellbend, even though that's unlikely, as he's never met a Hellbend shorter than himself. Whatever their race, they have nice hair. It's very long. He doesn't know how people can stand hair as long as that. Currituck can't stand for his hair to be longer than half an inch.

Currituck makes his way for the exit of the market, but alas! The rum merchant's stall is stationed right along his route out! Currituck can't help but stop and look. He stoops over to read the labels on the bottles. Kiwi notes, strawberry notes, blueberry notes...BLACKBERRY notes!!! Currituck hones in on this rum. It's one of the nicer ones, too. He smiles at it, then neutralizes his smile and straightens up and thinks. Would he rather have the pride of controlling himself or the delicious pleasure of his favorite alcoholic beverage flavored with his favorite fruit? The seller watches him without amusement.

[Solara Ekin]

Solara wasn’t able to find any salmon at this point and wondered if all the salmon ended up leaving for the winter. She wasn’t deterred however and went along with getting two trouts, hoping her father didn’t mind changing up a few ingredients, lemons still go good with trouts. Once she paid for the trout, she went ahead to go find an alcoholic beverage for the party, since her father is allowing her to drink tonight and he recommended her a specific drink to try as her starting drink. The drink she was looking for was Steppes specialty with cherries and as she made it over there and soon noticed the small Hellbend with his cap.

This kinda surprised her and started to wonder about the possibility of seeing Hellbend midgets. Did this Hellbend perhaps be a Hellbend midget, even so she is still shorter than him, which she didn’t mind at all really. However, it was also nice to know that there are Hellbends out there that of many different shapes and sizes like humans.

Once she finished approaching the wine shop, she made sure to smile to provide greetings, plus making sure that she was presentable as well. She pretended to not notice him for a bit, but sometimes would look over him and take in his features that he had, simply thinking that he didn’t look too bad. She looked away and remembered that she was looking for Steppes Speciality when she finally found it and looked at it with a smile on her face.

[Currituck Itavi]

Hmm, decisions, decisions...

Currituck hears someone approaching from behind and he automatically turns to look.

...

......

.........

He stands there agape. Speechless. Motionless. A human WOMAN! How exotic! They're all so...short!!! And she's SMILING at him! You'd think his infatuation knew Lumenmancy with the lightshow that's going off in his brain. Currituck remained like a wonderstruck statue as the human went about her shopping nearby.

"Are you gonna buy somethin' or not?" asks the rum merchant in a huff.

"Nnno sir, I'm nnnot...," Currituck replies, still overcome with infatuation.

"Then MOVE. You're blocking paying customers."

Currituck steps aside as other shoppers close in on the rum merchant's stall. Then he snaps out of his infatuation, checks to make sure his posture is good -- shoulders square! chin up! -- smooths the wrinkles out of his shirt, and adjusts his cap to where it sits straight on his head. Hopefully the human lady wouldn't notice him gussying up, but there's no sense in embarrassing his own damn self with that thought before he's even gone up to her.

The short Hellbend strides confidently up to the shorter human, squinting his eyes in attempt to dispel the blurriness caused by his myopia so he can see what kind of drink the woman's looking at. He can make out the Steppes Specialty brand emblem, but no text whatsoever.

"Oh, Steppes Specialty? I've heard they make good quality wines. I'm more of a rum man, myself." Currituck looks at her expectantly to see how she responds to his icebreaker, granted she gives him the time of day, or even understands Rigarian.

[Solara Ekin]

Solara looked over after she jumped a bit, she felt a bit embarrassed as she knew he was there the first time. Was she really paying so much attention to a bottle of wine, perhaps she was trying to get his attention by seeing if he will take the bait. Seems he did...wait why am I trying to bait him into anything, I mean sure he is good looking and all. He has the outfit that you would expect someone to have at the ball of royalty or at a staged show. Even though she earlier thought that he was a Hellbend midget, he was still quite a few inches taller than her, but still not too tall that she had to sprain her neck to look at him. He looked handsome with that cap he had on him and she found herself looking over his facial features while she was still holding the bottle of wine. After a few moments later, she realized that he said something about the wine she had.

“Yes...since it’s going to be my 18th birthday in three days, my father told me to get Steppes Speciality as my very first alcoholic drink; I hope that I like it and I can have some for a while.”

Solara’s cheeks were now reddened from her earlier embarrassment of her little jump and the realization that she was basically checking him out. His clothing somewhat hid his toned muscles on his slender body that he had, but she can see how hard labor has gotten him to be strong. Wait am I looking at him again? Fuck. I really hope he didn’t notice, why am I infatuated though? Well, he is kinda good looking...well really good looking for a hellbend...Solara you are shopping, you can’t be checking out...handsome men...damn it.

[Currituck Itavi]

...

......

.........

AND SHE SPEAKS RIGARIAN!!!!!!
Currituck's infatuation just achieved journeyman-level Lumenmancy.

He listens as the human explains her father's recommendation of the brand. "Oh, your first time drinkin'?" Currituck looks up over the woman's head in embarrassment at his slang slipping into the conversation, then looks back down at her. "Be careful; drink slowly so you can find out your limits. And don't let anyone pressure you into drinking more." He looks over her head again. "Also be sure there's a bathroom nearby; alcohol runs right through ya." He kicks himself internally for letting his formality slip again. He's just not used to talking about alcohol in a formal context.

He can't help but notice the woman's body language. Is...is she blushing? He's seen humans of a similar skintone to her aboard ships with their faces flushed from hard drink, but he can't tell for certain. What he can tell for certain is that she's looking him up and down. Is she checking him out? The mere thought of that possibility fuels his smile and emboldens him to say what he says next:

"I'm Currituck, by the way. Currituck Itavi." He stows his hands behind his back parade rest-style like they're cables being stowed away in preparation for setting sail. "And you, ma'am?"

[Solara Ekin]

Solara listened to every word he spoke to her as if it had weight in her life and her logical side of her came back to say, Solara get a hold of yourself, he might just be trying to make you a friend. You two just met, don’t start falling for a man who you just met, you might not see him ever again after this....no...I....Solara stop you are gonna embarrass yourself terribly. Go back to your professionalism with a smile and who knows maybe you two can be friends. Don’t push it further than it will be, ok? If it goes somewhere, then it goes somewhere, be careful how you say things.

Ok here we go.

“Thank you for the advice, I am going to try to drink responsibly and my father will be there to make sure that I do it safely as well. The bathroom idea sounds like a good one as well, I will be sure to keep that one in mind.” Solara said with a big smile on her face and started to notice that her voice was a little...higher in tone than normal? Will he notice the change in her voice getting higher the more he talked to her? Wait did he notice her looking him up and down? Her heart pace picked up a bit in a little bit of fear.

She attempted to keep a smile on her face to hide her general internal panic that he might have caught her out and that maybe he wouldn’t want to talk to her after this. Another thought also dawned on her as well that she was a human and he was a Hellbend, would that mean he was just wanting to talk to her because he thinks she might be someone he would want to talk to. But wait, why exactly did he want to talk to her, she wasn’t doing anything extraordinary that would get anyone to come over to her.

Maybe he did like the way she looked? Solara stop. But he’s kinda cute. Solara please, you need to calm down. But what if he likes me? Solara maybe he was just trying to buy wine as well and you just so happened to be there. I...oh...maybe yeah...but he sure is really cute and handsome and maybe we can be friends! Solara please. I mean it doesn’t hurt to have a cute friend around though right? I suppose yeah....oh my gosh he introduced himself!

Currituck Itavi, what an extraordinary name and it’s not in the four letter category either; quite impressive indeed.

Solara had an even bigger smile on her face and said again with her little bit of a higher tone of voice. “My name is Solara Ekin, daughter to Braum Ekin and Misty Ekin. Blacksmith apprentice to Master Eachan at the Fire and Steel.” Solara did a feminine bow to him after her professional introduction to him. She had a lot of pride in her work, even though she wanted to be able to do more work at the forge for customers, she was proud of the progress she made. Maybe, she could one day show off her skills that she learned all these years to him, that would be a lot of fun.

[Currituck Itavi]

Currituck listens attentively to the woman's reply. She speaks very well. His eyes and smile are relaxed in a pleasant expression, his chest rising and falling slowly. She has a beautiful, feminine voice. He nods when she finishes responding to his advice. She has such a beautiful smile...although, it seems a bit forced. Has Currituck made her uncomfortable somehow? Maybe his informal speech sneaking into what he said threw her off. Maybe his advances in general were unwanted. But she hasn't slapped him -- yet -- Currituck was used to being told to fuck off in the form of a slap across the cheek, especially in human ports where most human women speak only Common, and he doesn't know how to ask politely for what he wants in Common, only the word for what he wants. This human's tone didn't have a trace of discomfort before the seemingly-forced smile...

Stop overthinking.

Don't lose your confidence.

Her wider smile when she introduces herself makes Currituck smile wider, and he bows cordially to her in turn. Of course, how low she bowed in reference to his body makes his face burn. C'mon, get it together, we've hardly disembarked for that port.

"Solara...what a beautiful name." Like the Sun Goddess, Sulest. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He puffs out his chest when he stands back up from bowing. Just what is it about flirting that inflates his sails so much? And a blacksmith, too... Currituck notices the muscle definition in Solara's arms and neck. She's very fit of form with her luscious black hair. Currituck takes in her toned silhouette for a moment before continuing: "If I'm ever in the market for a sword, I'll be sure to visit your shop." He could have gone for an innuendo there, but it's too soon. "My parents run the local tailor shop on Avakaron's east side. I'm a sailor, myself, with aspirations of becoming captain."

Alright.

Moment of truth.

"Well, Solara," he would begin after the lovely lady responded to his final remarks, "When you get done shopping, if you'd like, would you join me for lunch? There's a seafood place right by the ocean where we could sit down and have a quick bite."

His delivery was solid, but the look in Currituck's eyes hints at nervousness. His hands are fidgeting behind his back. A prime example of why it was good that he formed that habit of resting his hands behind him when he talks to people. He waits to see her reaction, mentally bracing himself for humiliation, getting yelled at, or even being slapped.

...Or worse, kicked in the crotch.

[Solara Ekin]

He...he...he...thinks my name is my name is beautiful!? Ok Solara, calm down...you need to calm down, like by Nilata calm down! But he said my name was beautiful! Calm down Solara, please it’s nice that he is being a gentleman, but remember that guys tend to be sweet like this a lot, ok? I assume he would have said this to any women that he would just so happen to be talking to. Maybe this is simply is a thing that Currituck does when he talks to women and that she should try to calm down. However, on the outside her eyes did light up with her smile after he said her name was beautiful, which Solara wanted to hide away in her hands, but couldn’t due to holding a bottle of wine.

Oh Nilata, why are you sometimes such a tease, a handsome boy to say my name is beautiful and I can’t even be allowed to hide my excitement.

“That would be really cool to see you captain a ship and of course if and whenever you are up to coming by the shop, my family and I will be ready to provide you the best quality weapons we can provide!”

Of course he continued and all Solara could think about was his family being tailors and him being a Sailor, then she put the two together.

“A sailor always needs a tailor, am I right?” Solara said out of nowhere after he mentioned what his family does, she felt like she might’ve went too far, she hoped she didn’t go to far, in order to try and rectify what she said, she continued “What I mean is that, it’s amazing that your family has a tailor business, they will have a lot of options to look really nice.” Wait did that make it better or worse...Oh no, I’m doomed..I fucked this up bad...fuck...fuck...fuck...Oh shit....ummm.

Solara was silent and soon heard that he wanted to ask her out, her mind just straight up exploded and she stared at him for what felt like a minute, but was only twenty seconds. Soon she also realized that she was holding her breath, she took a deep breath in and decided to go for it.

“I would love to have lunch with you Currituck, I have the whole week off this week from my job. What’s the name of the restaurant and what time do you want to meet there exactly at?” Solara asked, holding her breath again. Her face was extremely read now. She was trying her best to hide her fear that she may have messed something up and hoped that it would go well, hoping that she can still go out with him.

I hope this works out and I can get to know him more.

[Currituck Itavi]

Okay, she's smiling! She took that compliment well. Maybe Currituck's flirting wasn't making her uncomfortable as he initially thought. Currituck's pride reaches terminal velocity when Solara says it'd be cool to see him as a captain, and it crashes through his face in the form of a huge grin. He pictures himself in captain's clothes and hat. He'd look very dashing indeed. Solara's evident pride in her work would have brought a smile to his face had there not already been one there tearing his cheeks apart.

Currituck gets a funky look on his face, like there's a seagull tickling the roof of his mouth with its feathers, like he thinks that the attractive woman saying 'sailor' and 'tailor' in the same sentence is funny. And after she clarifies, the proof of his mirth is loosed from deep in his chest in the form of a snorting cackle, his sharp Hellbend teeth shining like the moon in the night of his black Hellbend tongue and gums.

"I never thought a' that before! M' mom's a TAILOR and I'm a SAILOR!" he says, holding out his hands gesturally to his left at mention of his mother's profession and then to his right at mention of his profession. He cackles some more, but then shuts his mouth. Humans tend to think the insides of Hellbend mouths look scary... Shit... Currituck quickly regains his footing in the conversation, stowing his hands back in their quarters near his lower back and clearing his throat before he asked her out to lunch.

...

...The human has stopped responding...

Currituck's hands grip each other for dear life behind him as the tension of the silence between him and Solara builds. His mind hammers away like mad to fortify himself against impending physical rejection, battening down every single hatch and even building new ones to batten down for good measure. He stands with his legs firm and closer together to stop the low blow he's surely about to receive.

...

...Her chest isn't moving anymore...

Is she having an asthma attack?

...

She breathes again.

Oh shit...

Will it be "Fuck off, bastard" again?

...

!

SHE SAID YES!!! FUCK YES!!!

Currituck's beaming like the sun.

"Thanks for agreeing to go with me, Solara. It doesn't really have a name...we sailors just call it th' seafood shack since it's a shack that serves seafood. Can't miss it, it's really small, faces the ocean, worn grayish wood, with a white- and blue-striped canvas overhang -- the stripes're vertical when you're lookin' at it from the beach." That bit about vertical stripes wasn't exactly necessary, but Currituck got caught up in his explanation, and when he gives explanations, he likes to be as detailed as possible. "She has a-- er, it has a bar where you can sit down and order as well as a little galley-- eating area off to the starboard side-- er, RIGHT side-- no... Well, if you're viewin' it from the south, yes..." He points around himself in various directions, turning and folding the mental map of Avakaron in his head trying to translate sailing and navigational terms into layman terms, his brow twisting itself into all sorts of knots. "If yer lookin' at it from the front, the eatin' area'll be t' the left a' the shack," he decides. Currituck's face heats up from embarrassment.

But then he notices that Solara's face is the color of a beet...and her chest's stopped moving again...

"Solara, are you choking?!" Currituck raises his hands at the ready to help dislodge whatever foreign object is obstructing her windpipe. He's seen humans turn blue when they stop breathing, but does the color change vary depending on skintone? He doesn't know!!!!