Awkward....

[Aryssa]

Awkward, that what the situation was. It was awkward. Aryssa hated being in such large crowds of people. It just made her feel so awkward and exposed, to the point it was nearly painful. All she could do was hope that her business in town would not take long, so she could return to her small camp in the woods. If she had her way, Aryssa would never go into the town, however since she was so new to the area, she had yet to figure out where everything was, where she could gather herbs and saps, she had yet to set up a permanent dwelling so she only had a camp fire to cook with, so she would have to go into town to get various food items as well as the plants she'd need to help with her potions and magics.

She paused next to a stall in the market place, tucking a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear, the wind gently whipping it back around her face along with the red silken scarf that was also intertwined with her dark locks. She shifted on her feet, her bare toes cold against the cobblestones. Cold? eh, not really. She'd rather be barefoot than having to wear uncomfortable shoes. Bleh.

She picked through some of the herbs the vendor was selling when a gentleman approached her. 'Hello, my dear. You look lost.' he said softly, his dark eyes staring down on her like a cat eyes a mouse. Aryssa's face went red and she turned her eyes down to the herbs on the counter, trying her best not to pay attention to the man. This did not sit well with the man hitting on her. "Come on baby, no need to be cold." he said, reaching out his hand to take her arm. "Let's go get you a drink." He added, trying to take her away from the stall. Ugh, the scent of alcohol was thick on his breath. "I can hear your liver's crying screams. I a-am not interested. now let go of me." she said softly, wrenching her arm from his grasp.

A scowl crossed the man's face and he grabbed her arm once more. 'Come on, let's get that drink.' he said more firmly, managing to drag her away from the stall by a few paces.

[Axl]

Axl walked along the market stalls, his bare feet and simple dress earning him some rather strange looks from the people around him, not to mention a few incoherent mutterings as well. sighing and shaking his head, Axl ignored them. A few curious children stared at the tattoos that adorned his face and neck, and he smiled and waved at them. A few of the more out going children smiled and waved back, although the sky ones hid behind their mother's skirts. The market was rather busy that day, which was good for Axl, who was going to sell some herbs that he had collected in the forest, as well as sell some tinctures and potions that he had made up.

He quickly made it to the stall he had reserved and set up his things, shaking his head at how busy the market was, when the summer festival had been nearly empty. Ah well, I guess it's because they need to eat, but they don't have time to celebrate. he thought to himself as he began to set up his display. Several people came to his stall to buy potions and such, although the day was rather slow.

Soon, a young woman with long dark hair stopped in front of his stall and began to inspect the herbs he had for sale. Her red scarf was blowing in the wind, getting entangled in her hair. She was wearing loose fitting clothes that also blew in the wind. Axl watched as a man approached her, and spoke to her. It became obvious as their conversation went on that the man was drunk, however, Axl knew that it would probably not be a good idea for him to get involved.

The man suddenly forcefully grabbed the woman's arm and began to drag her away from the stall, knocking over several of Axl's things in the process. Growling, Axl stepped out from behind his stall and placed a hand on the man's arm. "Excuse me, but I do believe you owe both me and this young lady an apology. She obviously doesn't want anything to do with you." Axl said to him.

The man turned around with a growl, telling Axl to 'mind his own business.' He turned around, not relinquishing his grip on the woman's arm and raised a fist to punch Axl, who simply pulled some powder out of his bag and blew it into the man's face.

The man fell back, letting go of the woman, clutching at his eyes. "That powder will wash out simply by flushing your eyes with water, it'll only do permanent damage if you rub it in." he told the man. The man staggered away and Axl turned to the woman. "Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

[Aryssa]

Aryssa stood in shock as the stall owner stepped out and confronted the man trying to drag her off. She couldn't believe he has stepped in, then nearly got punched in the face, but the vendor was too fast for him and laid her assailant out on his ass with a strange powder.

She watched silently as the man staggered off, leaving her with the vendor once more. "I-I'm fine." she said softly, leaning down and picking up several bundles of herbs and broken bits of earthenware jars. She stood and placed the herbs on the stall counter, as for the pot, she concentrated a bit, and the shattered pot reconstructed itself, the oil that had spilled onto the ground refilling the jar. She offered it to the man, a very faint trace of a smile on her face. "I-I'm terribly sorry about th-that." she said softly.

"Th-thank you for helping me. I-it was v-very kind of you." she added, her soft voice barely audible. "If the-there is any other damage, I'd be hap-happy to pay you fo-for them on top of these." She said, selecting several rather large bundles of herbs, leaves and twigs.

[Axl]

Axl watched in surprise as the girl leaned over to pick up the herbs, repairing the jars that had fallen. "So you know some magic eh?" he commented. Axl had not seen any magic for a while, it seemed as though those who had magic in Alatus Nox kept it to themselves now a days, whereas in the older times, there had always been performers passing through who used their magic to earn their bread, of course, it was now impossible to just pass through, once you came, you were stuck. "It's fine really, it wasn't your fault at all." he reassured the girl.

He watched as she selected some herbs to buy and smiled. "Don't worry about it, as I said, none of it was your fault." he told her, a smile on his face, "Do be careful."

[Aryssa]

Aryssa nodded at Axl awkwardly. "Y-yes. I'm a-a classically trained sorceress. Well...apprentice an-any way." she stammered softly, her voice so soft only Axl would be able to hear. The last thing she really wanted to do was advertise what she was and what she could do.

"A-are you sure? It really would b-be no problem" she murmured softly, her eyes focusing on anything but Axl. She sifted awkwardly on her bare feet, nibbling on her bottom lip as she waited for him to give her a price for the items she had selected. "I-I'm Aryssa, by the way." she stammered.

[Axl]

Axl listened politely to the girlas she intorduced herself. "Well then Aryssa, I'm very pleased to meet you, I'm Axl, an apothecary." he introduced himself. "You can pay me whatever you figure is fair for the herbs, I don't usually bother much with money." he shrugged. It was true, Axl was horrible at barganing, he normally just offered his services for free, after all, he had no real need for money.

Axl knew he was usually seen by others as a rather strange person, but he was used to it, he managed to make friends anyways, not everyone was uptight about people who were different. "I have a mind to say it is a problem, simply because you keep asking," he teased her, a smile on his face, "I said it was fine, why should you pay for damages that weren't your fault?"

[Aryssa]

Aryssa rooted around in her basket for a moment, digging beneath the other things she had purchased in the market in an attempt to locate her small coin pouch. She pulled out several silver coins, enough to totally cover the herbs and oils as well as a bit extra for Axl's trouble. She handed them to Axl, the slight smile on her face becoming a bit more vivid. "A-a pleasure." she said softly, handing him the money.

However as he teased her, her face flushed in a deep crimson hue and her smile faded. Gaaaaah so awkward! "I-I.....I'm sorry" she said softly, her eyes focused back on the ground.

[Axl]

"Thank you very much miss Aryssa, the pleasure is all mine." Axl said politely, taking the coins she had placed in front of him without bothering to count them. He grinned at her, slightly amused by her shy nature. "I can't decide who's worse, you or Yu, at least you don't wear a mask everywhere you go." he commented, more to himself, not realizing that he was probably confusing her by using Kobi's first name.

"Take care of yourself Aryssa, don't get taken advantage of." he told her, reminded very much of the other spirit he had adopted as his sister and finding himself worried about what would happen if Aryssa ran into that man again. "I can close up my stall and walk with you if you want...." he suggested to her, worry in his eyes.

[Aryssa]

Aryssa was at a loss for words when the man offered to close up his stall so he could walk with her. D'aww, how sweet of him to offer to escort her. Her pale cheeks erupted in a deep crimson blush, one that threatened to engulf her whole face.

She looked over her shoulder at Axl and gave him a very faint nod. "Th-That would be v-very kind of you. I-I would appreciate th-the company." she stammered, offering him a weak smile.

[Axl]

Axl smiled at Aryssa and gathered up all his things, packing them into his bag. As soon as he had cleaned up his stall, he stepped out from behind it and stood beside her. "Well then, shall we go?" he asked her. It amazed him how socially awkward the girl was, he got the feeling that if she hadn't had to pick up supplies, she would not have ventured into the town, and certainly not into the crowded market. It reminded him very much of Kobi, although Kobi would probably not go in town period, because she could get everything she needed to survive in the woods, and if she did want to buy something, she would probably send Axl to get it for her.

"Where do you live Aryssa?" he asked the young woman as they set off. As they walked, he noticed that several people were staring at the tattoo's that adorned Axl's arms, they were probably not used to such a thing, but Axl was very used to the stares. "I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable." he said to the shy girl beside him.

[Aryssa]

"Where do I l-live?" she repeated, her voice soft. "We-Well, I've taken up residence in th-the forest not f-far from the town boarder." she said softly, walking beside Axl, her hands tightly gripping her grocery basket.

She shook her head when he asked if she was uncomfortable. "N-no, not at all. I-I'm just not used to large crowds,"she said softly, lifting her hand to the side of her face so she could tuck a few loose strands of hair back behind her ear. "I-I'm used to being alone, or only ha-having my Master to talk to." she added.

[Axl]

Axl smiled and nodded. "What a coincidence! That is where I would have been heading anyways, that's were I live." he said to her as he led the way through the crowd. "Actually, this crowd is quite small. Exodus town used to be much more populated, but that was quite a while ago, the whole 'constantly in darkness and run by vampires' thing probably doesn't make people want to move here." he added, "hopefully you'll get used to it the more you come, although you might not."

The crowd began to narrow out as they approached the edge of the market place, headed towards the forest. "So Aryssa, what brings you to Alatus Nox in the first place?" he asked her out of mild interest, wondering what her profession was, seeing as she had seemed to want to keep her magic a secret.

[Aryssa]

Aryssa smiled awkwardly when Axl mentioned he also lived in the forest. A coincidence indeed. "I'd hate to see it so busy..."Aryssa murmured, commenting on his remark about the crowd. Ugh, bloody crowds. All the did was make Aryssa feel tiny and insignificant, more so than she already did on a day to day basis. "I don't really k-know how often I-I'll be traveling into t-town. I'm not really k-keen on large groups like this." she admitted, a faint blush crawling over her face.

"Wh-what brings me here?" she repeated, taking a moment to thin about his question. "N-nothing really. I've ju-just been out and about for th-the past few years." she said. "Wh-What about you? H-have you lived here lo-long?" she asked.

[Axl]

Axl shrugged. "If you're around crowds, you get used to it. Of course, there are always those who send the people who are comfortable around crowds into town for them, like my adoptive sister." he said, "You don't really have to go into town if you don't want to, it's not really a requirement, some people choose to live in the forest." he added in a reassuring manner.

"Have I been here long? I suppose you could say that, I was born here you see." he told her truthfully. Although having been forgotten about could sometimes be rather annoying, Axl was finding it amusing to see if people could figure out his species on their own, just from the clues he gave them and he waited patiently to see if Aryssa could figure it out.

[Aryssa]

"B-born here? Then may-maybe you know wh-what happened to the su-sun? I've never b-been to a place where the s-sun never shines." she said softly, her eyes locked on the basket she kept tightly gripped in her hands. Sure, he said being around crowds would help, but it seemed with every trip into a town or heavily populated area, it simply got worse for her.

She looked up for a moment, taking note of Axl's ever changing tattoos. However her cheeks suddenly flushed a deep scarlet as she realized she had been staring. "I-I'm sorry!" she apologized.