Post by Selini on Aug 3, 2008 15:58:13 GMT -5
Setting[/u]
Aduro Aurum - Via Valde
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This broad street runs west to east, terminating to the west with the city's garden, its luxuriant greenery just visible over the high, carved walls, and the temple to the east. The temple is a huge building, almost as big as the palace, and opens out onto the street through a large arch.
Straight ahead, to the south, is the palace courtyard; while the palace is surrounded by high walls, the courtyard itself is accessible, although guards flank it.
The permanent buildings on either side of the street are hewn from stone of a warm reddish gold color; steps have been carved into the sides of them to allow their dwellers to get up into the higher levels, and the fronts of many of the buildings have delicately carved decorations, many of them depicting the mottos or family names of the nobles who primarily occupy them.
While most of the Via Valde is free of vendors, there are tents and stalls set up around the temple from dawn to well into the evening, their owners hawking gaudy religious relics and statuary and votives, as well as a great variety of offerings for those worshippers who have not brought their own.
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(Exits)
[VA] Viridis Arbor
[TE] Temple
[PC] Palace Courtyard
[BA] Bazaar
Characters Involved:[/u] Kyros (Male Adolescent Cheetah), Selini (Female Adult Blue ("Maltese") Cheetah)
Summary:[/u] The cheetah Kyros is sent on an early-morning errand for his parents... unfortunately (for him) his path brings him across the grump of a healer, Selini.
Life in the city never truly sleeps, though morning always seems to be a little quieter: that strange hour between night and day where it's not quite either -- the sky is a pale grayish blue and the chill of the desert-night still hangs on the air, though soon as the sun rises the heat shall begin to intensify. The city is fairly quiet -- though not entirely so. Most vendors are still sleeping, along with most ordinary civilians.
Selini needs some time to herself: as a healer, she sees many animals each day that need her "help" in some way or another; broken bones, scraped knees, sniffles... and the blue creature simply needs her time alone. She's always been quite solitary by nature, and without her alone-time, she gets cranky. So it is at this pre-dawn hour that she roams quietly through Aduro Aurum, moving west down the Via Valde. Her head is, as it always is, held high and her manner aloof, though there are few to see her as she makes her way towards the gardens...
Most of the vendors, but sadly, in Kyros' case, not all of them. The young cheetah wandered the streets with a look saying that he could have slept a few hours more (or perhaps that he should have slept earlier) before getting up and about, not even bothering to hide his occasional wide yawn as he wanders the street. "Morning meals, filling out a valueable niche that few of the other vendors aren't. Geez, mom and dad, there's a /reason/ that niche isn't filled by others." Kyros yawned again, "It's too early to hunt for food." he continued to grumble. Fortunately, Kyros wasn't actually the one hunting for food at this early hour, but merely the one to seek out the select few who had ordered their morning meals. "Bet they'll be cranky." his ears perked, head lifting slightly as he saw another cheetah, afraid either of his parents might've heard him complain, but eased once he saw it was a blue cheetah, which clearly distinguished her from his parents. But why was she blue, anyways? Kyros couldn't help but slow down and watch the other cheetah for so long that it turned into a stare.
Indeed, most "sane" animals aren't even up at this hour. Except maybe the important ones that have very important business to attend to: unlike Selini, who's merely up at this hour because... well, it's the only break she usually gets. That is, when she isn't avoiding her obligations altogether. The silvery-blue creature stride purposefully. She's probably already eaten, or just doesn't care to at this early hour, and being herself, she's remarkably good at ignoring most of the others around her... or at least appearing to. You see, she's actually particularly aware of most small details, or at least the looks of passing animals. In this case, she glimpses another cheetah: not unusual. He looks a little tired, but then again who doesn't when you're up and about before the sun? Even Selini looks a little grouchy and weary. ...oh wait. She's always grouchy. She also realizes that his glance -- she /did/ see him look her way -- has become a stare. Ok... she could go right on her merry way and ignore it, but she doesn't. A few steps further, and the blue cheetah stops, only her head turning to meet the stare of the male cheetah. Her white-tipped tail curls as her eyes narrow, a soft snort sounding from her nostrils. "What are /you/ staring at? It's like you've never seen another cheetah before in your life!" she turns to face him, her tail flicking slightly. Of course, she's aware it's probably because of her rather... unique fur color. Most animals have seen variations like the king cheetah, but a blue cheetah -- and a spotless one at that? Yeah she's different and she knows it. She glares down her nose at Kyros. "Or do you want something, lad?"
When the other cheetah stopped up and looked his way, Kyros realized that he had probably ended up doing something rather rude and looked a little embarassed at her words, lowering his head a little and turning his gaze downward, "My apologies. You're just different from the other cheetahs in town." he paused, realizing that it didn't quite explain that he had ended up staring like that. "I didn't mean to stare, I'm just a little tired and didn't quite realize that I actually /was/ staring. Honest." he lifted his head again and looked at the other cheetah, knowing he couldn't just be on his way again before she had hopefully accepted his apology or at least dismissed the matter and gone on her way. The last thing he needed was to insult someone in town, it wouldn't be very fitting of him as a coming scholar and his parents wouldn't exactly be proud either. "If my apology is not enough, perhaps I can offer something for my insult. I usually get a very fresh piece of meat in the morning. I'd gladly skip that and offer it to you, instead, if that can bring any balance to the event."
Selini's in a particularly sour mood at this moment: why'd he have to go and /stare/ at her for? Now she's definately cranky. And she was so looking forward to the gardens... but pestering this kid a little ought to do. Different? She snorts again and starts padding towards the boy. Her furry brows are raised as she listens to his apology, but she doesn't seem appeased in the slightest. If anything, the fact that her tail's gone comepletely still might indicate further annoyance. "All right, all right, /stop,/" she sighs, slightly exasperated. "No need for petty /excuses./ You were /staring/," yeah... he already said that Sel. Of course, she's just trying to make him feel a little worse for it. After a moment of glaring at him, her chin still lifted a little, she lowers it and sighs again. "I don't want your breakfast, boy. I just want to get to the gardens in peace-" she stops suddenly, her brows furrowing slightly. "On second thought, breakfast doesn't sound too bad. Might as well not turn down the offer," she mutters the last part, her gaze not quite breaking away from the younger cheetah. She can go to the gardens later. Clients -- patients -- /whatever/ -- they can wait 'til she's relaxed a little. They'll get over it. "What's your name, boy?"
Kyros lowered his head immidiatly when she told him to just stop and she succeeded quite well in making him feel worse about it. He considered apologising again, but then rememberred that she had just told him to stop and ending up simply nodding to her words. When she brings up the gardens and not wanting his breakfast, Kyros briefly believes he's off the hook, with the other cheetah going to those gardens and him still having his breakfast to return to, but then she seems to change her mind and his ears perk a little. So she wants breakfast after all? Kyros nodded, figuring it was still a good trade if that would make her forget or at least forgive him for staring. Already about to head off and get the food, Kyros stops up as she requests his name, "I am Kyros. Son of Lorus and In'gi." he waited to see if she had more to say or if she was going to let him run off to get the food.
Selini actually moves to follow Kyros. She might as well accompany him -- no need to risk him running off and never returning -- kids these days just can't be trusted... even one that looks like Kyros. He doesn't look like a bad kid: Selini probably doesn't even think he really is. She's just a big ol' sourpuss. Not that he has anyway of knowing that about her. Or maybe he's already getting the idea: don't mess with the cranky healer. She takes things the wrong way. Or just likes causing unnessicary difficulty for others... "Kyros, huh?" Selinie murrs softly, her tail twisting first one way, then the other. She doesn't say anything else right away, just moves to keep pace with the youngling. "You always get up and about this early?"
Kyros looked a little surprised to see that she intended to follow him and briefly speculated how that would look to his mother and father, if they would suspect anything. "Not always, but when we have quite a few in the morning who desires a meal, we're a little more busy than usual. It's usually the more wealthy residents who send a messenger to our shop." Kyros said and walked in a direction that wasn't towards the vendors. "I'm gonna make a brief detour, a very brief one, I just need to inform one of our customers that he can send a servant down to get a fresh prey, we just brought one in." he said with a halfway insisting and also apologising tone, "It won't take more than a brief moment! and afterwards it's straight to the shop where you'll get fresh, free breakfast."
Hey. You can't beat free breakfast. And that's part of the reason she changed her mind instead of waiting. Besides. He offered. And now he's going to pay up on that little promise whether he likes it or not. As Kyros speaks, Selini's gaze is focused ahead of her, keeping note of where they're headed. Not towards the other vendors... what's he up to? Is he up to trouble? She glances at him out of the corner of one golden eye, then turns her head to look at him. One brow is quirked slightly. "Surprising that I haven't seen you around before, then," she comments blankly, her brows lifting before she looks ahead again. A detour? Oh. So that's what it is. Her response a soft "Mrph!" as some sort of "That's fine, as long as I get breakfast" just ... not quite as eloquent as all that. Hopefully he actually gets that message out of it... she lets silence pervade the air for a little while after that. The city is so quiet... not silent, mind you, just quiet. Then she seems to perk right up, her head tilting. "So. You deliver prey for a living. Serve it? Heh..." she's deliberately avoiding talking about herself at all. Whatever he needs to know he can find out later if absolutely nessicary. But she doesn't owe him anything as she sees it. Not even a name. "...I suppose it works."
Kyros noted that she wasn't all too happy about the detour, but Kyros didn't want to be the cause of unhappy customers to his parents' shop, either. Kyros, however, seemed to have spoken the truth as he approached one of the residences not too many steps away and sought out a servant, who seemed to be waiting, a wolf by the looks of nod. Kyros nodded a greeting to the servant, "The prey has been caught and can be picked up whenever you're ready." he informed and the servant offered a, "Very well, I will inform master Aoeto. It will be picked up soon:" Kyros nodded and then turned away, his little job of delivering a message was done and he started heading towards the shop. "That's what my parents do. I help out when needed, but recently I've started studying to become a scholar, so now my time is divided trying to help my parents with their shop and studying everything my mentor tells me to study. They don't call on my help as often after I started studying, so usually I manage fairly." he took a deep breath and looked over to the other cheetah, "What's your name?" he asked, then looked on the road ahead of him, continueing to walk.
Selini waits back a little distance as Kyros delivers his message, quick and simple as it is. When they start moving along again, Selini allows herself to look at the youth and await some sort of answer, which she does get eventually. She seems to find it satisfactory and nods her head before watching the path ahead again. The sky is lightening just the slightest bit; soon it'll begin to grow light at a more incredible pace as the sun races for the eastern horizon. But there's still plenty of time to enjoy the cool morning air.
So, he wants to become a scholar? This causes Selini's brows to raise and her sharp eyes to turn to the youth again, this time with something a little like approval in her eyes. "Good, wise choice," she offers as commentary on that, her tail flickering behind her. "You'll have to learn a lot," she adds after a moment, her voice a little lower as she eyes the younger cheetah. He wasn't too bright to be offering breakfast to just anyone, but she can't hold that against him, now can she? She's just about to offer some kind remark about this, but he beats her to another question: name? One brow lifts, then she forms a sort of half-smile. "Selini. You can call me Sel, if you want. Doesn't matter to me. I'm a local healer: you got wounds, you come to me. I'll heal you," she chuckles, counting of this information with ease, meanwhile casting a glance at another early-riser: a green peafowl. Huh. You see all sorts in the city... her eyes turn to Kyros. She doesn't always charge for her services, either... though she prefers some sort of trinket or tribute for her work. But that should be obvious enough.
Conversation seemed to be a little more relaxed as they went towards the shop and Kyros was quite glad that things were turning in that direction. He nodded to her words, "Yes, my mentor seems to think that as well. He's had me go through a lot of books the past few days." and during the late evenings, Kyros has often found himself in the library when most others had departed for their homes. One good thing about the amount of books his mentor demanded that he read, was that Kyros did not mind reading them at all. He truly enjoyed learning, even of he seemed to have an overwhelming amount of knowledge to learn, but he was young and he couldn't be expected to know everything. "You're Selini?" oh great, he hadn't just managed to offend some random, blue cheetah, but the local healer. Kyros let that sink in for a moment and nodded, "I've heard about you, a little at least. Many send grateful words to those who can relieve them of their pain. It's a wonderful gift."
Selini listens, and while it may not appear that way, she's genuinely interested in what the youth is saying. She supposes he's probably a devout believer in Akash, as well. That's less interesting. But he wants to be a scholar, and that means he's probably got as good head on his shoulders, and all that work leaves him little time to get into trouble as some youth tend to. ...a bit like Selini herself used to be when she was young. She wasn't nessicarily burying her nose in books or anything, but learning is always a good thing and she'll readily acknowledge this fact. She knows quite a bit herself, not all of it exactly... sanctioned by the temple. But she keeps her mouth shut and plays the good, pious healer fairly well... but for this attitude of her's.
She quirks a brow at his response to her identity. Then a smirk plays on her maw. She can't help herself... she offends a lot of animals and a lot of animals offend her. When they learn she's the healer! Oh, it's /priceless/! She cracks a grin at her own inward laughter, though she'll let the boy think it's because of his own comments about the healer. "A lot of animals /have/ heard of me. It's not my fault they're stupid enough to put themselves in positions to get /hurt./ I just fix what they break." She won't mention her own elemental abilities -- that's just for herself to know. "Aye, that I suppose it is. A gift..." this she says almost half-heartedly. She liks to make the hurt go away, she genuinely does. It's just dealing with others she doesn't like. "Just how far away is this shop of yours?" She's getting slightly impatient. She wants to go to the gardens before the sun rises and it's too hot for her to care to bother...
Kyros mostly got into trouble when his friends encouraged him to and fortunately, it wasn't all that often and most of the times, they managed to get away more or less undetected. As for learning Selini was who she was? He had never intended to offend her in the first place and already before learning she was a healer, he felt bad about it, when he did learn she was a healer, it just made matter much, much worse. Kyros perked his ears at Selini's words, "Sometimes it can't be avoided, I guess. Like guards defending the city, they're likely to get hurt, well, more likely than others I'd guess, but they can't really choose not to do it, at least not without serious consequences." he wasn't sure about the exact penalty if a guard fled a fight in cowardice, but there had to be some sort of penalty for it, Kyros figured. "It's close, we can up the pace a little." he said, "It's in sight now, though." he motioned further ahead and it wasn't very hard to make out, since it was one of the few vendors open at this hour.
He'll just have to make sure he's never around Selini's house when he's getting into trouble. She'd let him have it verbally at least -- and believe me, he'd probably prefer the guards to the crotchety healer.
Kyros's comment on guards is recieved with a slightly lifted brow. She's not sure how much of that she believes... she won't say he's wrong, of course. But there are those who end up in dangerous situations -- not just ordinary civilians, but guards too -- that could very well be avoided. She's seen quite a few cases like those, and it's enough to give her a less than friendly out-look on many of her patients. He mentions upping the pace, and she's sure she might've agreed... but it /is/ within sight. "No, just walk lad," she answers, her eyes sweeping over him and hanging briefly on his valui: the stone that channels his power. Selini quirks a brow. It's color would suggest he's learning to use the earth element... she chooses not to inquire in that direction, instead focuses on where her breakfast will be coming from this morning.
Kyros decided just to walk as Selini seemed to be content now that it was so close anyways and Kyros realized that now came the part where he wished he had simply been able to pick up his breakfast and leave and hand it over to Selini out of his parents' sight, but he knew that were gonna question him about it at some point. Arriving at the shop, Kyros greets his father with a respectful nod, briefly looking around for his mother, "She's out informing another of our customers." Lorus answered, knowing who Kyros was looking for. Lorus eyes turned to Selini and he gave a respectful bow to the healer, apparently quite aware of who she was. "I've informed one of Aeoto's servants, they should be here shortly." Lorus nodded, "Well done. That'll be all for you this morning." Kyros approached his father, speaking in a lower voice and whatever Kyros had said caused Lorus to give an almost quizzical look to his son, but then simply nodded. Kyros then took a large piece of fresh meat and carried it over to Selini.
So this was Kyros's father... Selini dips her head in return, regarding Lorus quietly. Yeah, she's seen this one around every now-and-again that she thinks of it. It turns out that normally-colored animals are a bit harder to pick out of a crowd or to recognize. Selini's gotta play her part safe, 'cause if she ever /does/ get into trouble -- not that she does anything that could... -- she'd stick out like a sore thumb. How many blue cheetahs are there in exsistance, anyway? The healer's ears perk as Kyros's voice lowers and her says something his father that her sharp ears can't quite make out. The expression it leave on Lorus's face, however, prompts her to quirk a brow. On the whole, though, Selini looks rather un-amused at this rate. She's not ratting the boy out just because he was staring at her. But you can't beat free breakfast, and this looks like a choice piece. As the younger feline approaches, Selini's eyes actually seem to sparkle a little, her tail curling with anticipation. "Well. This will be a good breakfast. Thank you, boy," she responds, as if she'd never really been entirely angry with him... or maybe for the sake of allowing him to keep some standing in his father's presence. She's not entirely evil, you know.
Of course, explaining that he had offered someone a free breakfast wasn't exactly a simple task, which is why Kyros had tried to keep it low and simple, allowing his father to wonder and question him further about it a little later. With the meat delivered to Selini, Kyros gave a small nod to the blue cheetah, "you won't find breakfast more fresh than that at any other shop in Aduro Aurum." Kyros said, probably a little louder than normally to get the attention of the other few awake at this hour. Hey, if he could toss in a little advertisement while he was at it, he might as well do it. Something then dawned on Kyros, his father had said he was done aiding them for the moment, which then meant he had some spare time himself. It was a little while before he was going to meet with his mentor and Kyros looked thoughtful. He could go out and catch a minor meal for himself to make up for lack of breakfast, or he could head over to the library and dig into the books for a while.
Well. In any case, Selini's got breakfast, and she'll probably be happier once she gets to the gardens with her meal. Or she could just eat it now. But by now, the eastern horizon is starting to brighten and the cool gray of early morning is giving way ot a pale blue. The air is warming up and all too soon: she was hoping to make it to the gardens before morning came on fully. The city is already beginning to stir more... which means Kyros's little advertisement may not go fully ignored. "I must be on my way now. You can never tell just how busy it's going to be for a healer," she comments, a wry smile forming on her maw before her eyes really focus on Kyros and his father. "Nice meeting the both of you," she starts, her tail swaying to one side before she looks fully on the youth, "Stay out of trouble. Akasha is always watching." Yeah. So there. She'll know whenever Kyros stares down poor little cheetahs like Selini. "Now if you'll excuse me -- hate to eat and run, but I must get to the gardens before it gets too busy," so stooping to pick up her free breakfast, the blue cheetah turns to go, her tail swishing as farewell. She's outta here!
Kyros replied to Selini as she mentioned being on her way, "I'll make sure you won't be any busier due to my actions." he reassured, not having much of an idea just how busy a healer was. Would depend on how many would end up being wounded or sick in a day, he figured. Kyros watched as Selini turned and headed towards the garden, Kyros looked relieved once she disappeared from sight. In the end, no harm was done, at least he didn't get the impression she was still annoyed due to him staring earlier, but dang it, how could he /not/ stare at a blue cheetah randomly appearing on one of his morning routes? But it was sorted and settled and that was that. Now all he had to do was avoid getting injured and ending up having to seek out Selini to heal his wounds, that was sure to get more than a little grumpy, he guessed and started heading towards the city gates, having decided on a hunt rather than the books for once. At least he was much more awake now and he did intend to make use of his temporal displacement power to make sure the hunt went smooth and easy.
Aduro Aurum - Via Valde
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This broad street runs west to east, terminating to the west with the city's garden, its luxuriant greenery just visible over the high, carved walls, and the temple to the east. The temple is a huge building, almost as big as the palace, and opens out onto the street through a large arch.
Straight ahead, to the south, is the palace courtyard; while the palace is surrounded by high walls, the courtyard itself is accessible, although guards flank it.
The permanent buildings on either side of the street are hewn from stone of a warm reddish gold color; steps have been carved into the sides of them to allow their dwellers to get up into the higher levels, and the fronts of many of the buildings have delicately carved decorations, many of them depicting the mottos or family names of the nobles who primarily occupy them.
While most of the Via Valde is free of vendors, there are tents and stalls set up around the temple from dawn to well into the evening, their owners hawking gaudy religious relics and statuary and votives, as well as a great variety of offerings for those worshippers who have not brought their own.
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(Exits)
[VA] Viridis Arbor
[TE] Temple
[PC] Palace Courtyard
[BA] Bazaar
Characters Involved:[/u] Kyros (Male Adolescent Cheetah), Selini (Female Adult Blue ("Maltese") Cheetah)
Summary:[/u] The cheetah Kyros is sent on an early-morning errand for his parents... unfortunately (for him) his path brings him across the grump of a healer, Selini.
Life in the city never truly sleeps, though morning always seems to be a little quieter: that strange hour between night and day where it's not quite either -- the sky is a pale grayish blue and the chill of the desert-night still hangs on the air, though soon as the sun rises the heat shall begin to intensify. The city is fairly quiet -- though not entirely so. Most vendors are still sleeping, along with most ordinary civilians.
Selini needs some time to herself: as a healer, she sees many animals each day that need her "help" in some way or another; broken bones, scraped knees, sniffles... and the blue creature simply needs her time alone. She's always been quite solitary by nature, and without her alone-time, she gets cranky. So it is at this pre-dawn hour that she roams quietly through Aduro Aurum, moving west down the Via Valde. Her head is, as it always is, held high and her manner aloof, though there are few to see her as she makes her way towards the gardens...
Most of the vendors, but sadly, in Kyros' case, not all of them. The young cheetah wandered the streets with a look saying that he could have slept a few hours more (or perhaps that he should have slept earlier) before getting up and about, not even bothering to hide his occasional wide yawn as he wanders the street. "Morning meals, filling out a valueable niche that few of the other vendors aren't. Geez, mom and dad, there's a /reason/ that niche isn't filled by others." Kyros yawned again, "It's too early to hunt for food." he continued to grumble. Fortunately, Kyros wasn't actually the one hunting for food at this early hour, but merely the one to seek out the select few who had ordered their morning meals. "Bet they'll be cranky." his ears perked, head lifting slightly as he saw another cheetah, afraid either of his parents might've heard him complain, but eased once he saw it was a blue cheetah, which clearly distinguished her from his parents. But why was she blue, anyways? Kyros couldn't help but slow down and watch the other cheetah for so long that it turned into a stare.
Indeed, most "sane" animals aren't even up at this hour. Except maybe the important ones that have very important business to attend to: unlike Selini, who's merely up at this hour because... well, it's the only break she usually gets. That is, when she isn't avoiding her obligations altogether. The silvery-blue creature stride purposefully. She's probably already eaten, or just doesn't care to at this early hour, and being herself, she's remarkably good at ignoring most of the others around her... or at least appearing to. You see, she's actually particularly aware of most small details, or at least the looks of passing animals. In this case, she glimpses another cheetah: not unusual. He looks a little tired, but then again who doesn't when you're up and about before the sun? Even Selini looks a little grouchy and weary. ...oh wait. She's always grouchy. She also realizes that his glance -- she /did/ see him look her way -- has become a stare. Ok... she could go right on her merry way and ignore it, but she doesn't. A few steps further, and the blue cheetah stops, only her head turning to meet the stare of the male cheetah. Her white-tipped tail curls as her eyes narrow, a soft snort sounding from her nostrils. "What are /you/ staring at? It's like you've never seen another cheetah before in your life!" she turns to face him, her tail flicking slightly. Of course, she's aware it's probably because of her rather... unique fur color. Most animals have seen variations like the king cheetah, but a blue cheetah -- and a spotless one at that? Yeah she's different and she knows it. She glares down her nose at Kyros. "Or do you want something, lad?"
When the other cheetah stopped up and looked his way, Kyros realized that he had probably ended up doing something rather rude and looked a little embarassed at her words, lowering his head a little and turning his gaze downward, "My apologies. You're just different from the other cheetahs in town." he paused, realizing that it didn't quite explain that he had ended up staring like that. "I didn't mean to stare, I'm just a little tired and didn't quite realize that I actually /was/ staring. Honest." he lifted his head again and looked at the other cheetah, knowing he couldn't just be on his way again before she had hopefully accepted his apology or at least dismissed the matter and gone on her way. The last thing he needed was to insult someone in town, it wouldn't be very fitting of him as a coming scholar and his parents wouldn't exactly be proud either. "If my apology is not enough, perhaps I can offer something for my insult. I usually get a very fresh piece of meat in the morning. I'd gladly skip that and offer it to you, instead, if that can bring any balance to the event."
Selini's in a particularly sour mood at this moment: why'd he have to go and /stare/ at her for? Now she's definately cranky. And she was so looking forward to the gardens... but pestering this kid a little ought to do. Different? She snorts again and starts padding towards the boy. Her furry brows are raised as she listens to his apology, but she doesn't seem appeased in the slightest. If anything, the fact that her tail's gone comepletely still might indicate further annoyance. "All right, all right, /stop,/" she sighs, slightly exasperated. "No need for petty /excuses./ You were /staring/," yeah... he already said that Sel. Of course, she's just trying to make him feel a little worse for it. After a moment of glaring at him, her chin still lifted a little, she lowers it and sighs again. "I don't want your breakfast, boy. I just want to get to the gardens in peace-" she stops suddenly, her brows furrowing slightly. "On second thought, breakfast doesn't sound too bad. Might as well not turn down the offer," she mutters the last part, her gaze not quite breaking away from the younger cheetah. She can go to the gardens later. Clients -- patients -- /whatever/ -- they can wait 'til she's relaxed a little. They'll get over it. "What's your name, boy?"
Kyros lowered his head immidiatly when she told him to just stop and she succeeded quite well in making him feel worse about it. He considered apologising again, but then rememberred that she had just told him to stop and ending up simply nodding to her words. When she brings up the gardens and not wanting his breakfast, Kyros briefly believes he's off the hook, with the other cheetah going to those gardens and him still having his breakfast to return to, but then she seems to change her mind and his ears perk a little. So she wants breakfast after all? Kyros nodded, figuring it was still a good trade if that would make her forget or at least forgive him for staring. Already about to head off and get the food, Kyros stops up as she requests his name, "I am Kyros. Son of Lorus and In'gi." he waited to see if she had more to say or if she was going to let him run off to get the food.
Selini actually moves to follow Kyros. She might as well accompany him -- no need to risk him running off and never returning -- kids these days just can't be trusted... even one that looks like Kyros. He doesn't look like a bad kid: Selini probably doesn't even think he really is. She's just a big ol' sourpuss. Not that he has anyway of knowing that about her. Or maybe he's already getting the idea: don't mess with the cranky healer. She takes things the wrong way. Or just likes causing unnessicary difficulty for others... "Kyros, huh?" Selinie murrs softly, her tail twisting first one way, then the other. She doesn't say anything else right away, just moves to keep pace with the youngling. "You always get up and about this early?"
Kyros looked a little surprised to see that she intended to follow him and briefly speculated how that would look to his mother and father, if they would suspect anything. "Not always, but when we have quite a few in the morning who desires a meal, we're a little more busy than usual. It's usually the more wealthy residents who send a messenger to our shop." Kyros said and walked in a direction that wasn't towards the vendors. "I'm gonna make a brief detour, a very brief one, I just need to inform one of our customers that he can send a servant down to get a fresh prey, we just brought one in." he said with a halfway insisting and also apologising tone, "It won't take more than a brief moment! and afterwards it's straight to the shop where you'll get fresh, free breakfast."
Hey. You can't beat free breakfast. And that's part of the reason she changed her mind instead of waiting. Besides. He offered. And now he's going to pay up on that little promise whether he likes it or not. As Kyros speaks, Selini's gaze is focused ahead of her, keeping note of where they're headed. Not towards the other vendors... what's he up to? Is he up to trouble? She glances at him out of the corner of one golden eye, then turns her head to look at him. One brow is quirked slightly. "Surprising that I haven't seen you around before, then," she comments blankly, her brows lifting before she looks ahead again. A detour? Oh. So that's what it is. Her response a soft "Mrph!" as some sort of "That's fine, as long as I get breakfast" just ... not quite as eloquent as all that. Hopefully he actually gets that message out of it... she lets silence pervade the air for a little while after that. The city is so quiet... not silent, mind you, just quiet. Then she seems to perk right up, her head tilting. "So. You deliver prey for a living. Serve it? Heh..." she's deliberately avoiding talking about herself at all. Whatever he needs to know he can find out later if absolutely nessicary. But she doesn't owe him anything as she sees it. Not even a name. "...I suppose it works."
Kyros noted that she wasn't all too happy about the detour, but Kyros didn't want to be the cause of unhappy customers to his parents' shop, either. Kyros, however, seemed to have spoken the truth as he approached one of the residences not too many steps away and sought out a servant, who seemed to be waiting, a wolf by the looks of nod. Kyros nodded a greeting to the servant, "The prey has been caught and can be picked up whenever you're ready." he informed and the servant offered a, "Very well, I will inform master Aoeto. It will be picked up soon:" Kyros nodded and then turned away, his little job of delivering a message was done and he started heading towards the shop. "That's what my parents do. I help out when needed, but recently I've started studying to become a scholar, so now my time is divided trying to help my parents with their shop and studying everything my mentor tells me to study. They don't call on my help as often after I started studying, so usually I manage fairly." he took a deep breath and looked over to the other cheetah, "What's your name?" he asked, then looked on the road ahead of him, continueing to walk.
Selini waits back a little distance as Kyros delivers his message, quick and simple as it is. When they start moving along again, Selini allows herself to look at the youth and await some sort of answer, which she does get eventually. She seems to find it satisfactory and nods her head before watching the path ahead again. The sky is lightening just the slightest bit; soon it'll begin to grow light at a more incredible pace as the sun races for the eastern horizon. But there's still plenty of time to enjoy the cool morning air.
So, he wants to become a scholar? This causes Selini's brows to raise and her sharp eyes to turn to the youth again, this time with something a little like approval in her eyes. "Good, wise choice," she offers as commentary on that, her tail flickering behind her. "You'll have to learn a lot," she adds after a moment, her voice a little lower as she eyes the younger cheetah. He wasn't too bright to be offering breakfast to just anyone, but she can't hold that against him, now can she? She's just about to offer some kind remark about this, but he beats her to another question: name? One brow lifts, then she forms a sort of half-smile. "Selini. You can call me Sel, if you want. Doesn't matter to me. I'm a local healer: you got wounds, you come to me. I'll heal you," she chuckles, counting of this information with ease, meanwhile casting a glance at another early-riser: a green peafowl. Huh. You see all sorts in the city... her eyes turn to Kyros. She doesn't always charge for her services, either... though she prefers some sort of trinket or tribute for her work. But that should be obvious enough.
Conversation seemed to be a little more relaxed as they went towards the shop and Kyros was quite glad that things were turning in that direction. He nodded to her words, "Yes, my mentor seems to think that as well. He's had me go through a lot of books the past few days." and during the late evenings, Kyros has often found himself in the library when most others had departed for their homes. One good thing about the amount of books his mentor demanded that he read, was that Kyros did not mind reading them at all. He truly enjoyed learning, even of he seemed to have an overwhelming amount of knowledge to learn, but he was young and he couldn't be expected to know everything. "You're Selini?" oh great, he hadn't just managed to offend some random, blue cheetah, but the local healer. Kyros let that sink in for a moment and nodded, "I've heard about you, a little at least. Many send grateful words to those who can relieve them of their pain. It's a wonderful gift."
Selini listens, and while it may not appear that way, she's genuinely interested in what the youth is saying. She supposes he's probably a devout believer in Akash, as well. That's less interesting. But he wants to be a scholar, and that means he's probably got as good head on his shoulders, and all that work leaves him little time to get into trouble as some youth tend to. ...a bit like Selini herself used to be when she was young. She wasn't nessicarily burying her nose in books or anything, but learning is always a good thing and she'll readily acknowledge this fact. She knows quite a bit herself, not all of it exactly... sanctioned by the temple. But she keeps her mouth shut and plays the good, pious healer fairly well... but for this attitude of her's.
She quirks a brow at his response to her identity. Then a smirk plays on her maw. She can't help herself... she offends a lot of animals and a lot of animals offend her. When they learn she's the healer! Oh, it's /priceless/! She cracks a grin at her own inward laughter, though she'll let the boy think it's because of his own comments about the healer. "A lot of animals /have/ heard of me. It's not my fault they're stupid enough to put themselves in positions to get /hurt./ I just fix what they break." She won't mention her own elemental abilities -- that's just for herself to know. "Aye, that I suppose it is. A gift..." this she says almost half-heartedly. She liks to make the hurt go away, she genuinely does. It's just dealing with others she doesn't like. "Just how far away is this shop of yours?" She's getting slightly impatient. She wants to go to the gardens before the sun rises and it's too hot for her to care to bother...
Kyros mostly got into trouble when his friends encouraged him to and fortunately, it wasn't all that often and most of the times, they managed to get away more or less undetected. As for learning Selini was who she was? He had never intended to offend her in the first place and already before learning she was a healer, he felt bad about it, when he did learn she was a healer, it just made matter much, much worse. Kyros perked his ears at Selini's words, "Sometimes it can't be avoided, I guess. Like guards defending the city, they're likely to get hurt, well, more likely than others I'd guess, but they can't really choose not to do it, at least not without serious consequences." he wasn't sure about the exact penalty if a guard fled a fight in cowardice, but there had to be some sort of penalty for it, Kyros figured. "It's close, we can up the pace a little." he said, "It's in sight now, though." he motioned further ahead and it wasn't very hard to make out, since it was one of the few vendors open at this hour.
He'll just have to make sure he's never around Selini's house when he's getting into trouble. She'd let him have it verbally at least -- and believe me, he'd probably prefer the guards to the crotchety healer.
Kyros's comment on guards is recieved with a slightly lifted brow. She's not sure how much of that she believes... she won't say he's wrong, of course. But there are those who end up in dangerous situations -- not just ordinary civilians, but guards too -- that could very well be avoided. She's seen quite a few cases like those, and it's enough to give her a less than friendly out-look on many of her patients. He mentions upping the pace, and she's sure she might've agreed... but it /is/ within sight. "No, just walk lad," she answers, her eyes sweeping over him and hanging briefly on his valui: the stone that channels his power. Selini quirks a brow. It's color would suggest he's learning to use the earth element... she chooses not to inquire in that direction, instead focuses on where her breakfast will be coming from this morning.
Kyros decided just to walk as Selini seemed to be content now that it was so close anyways and Kyros realized that now came the part where he wished he had simply been able to pick up his breakfast and leave and hand it over to Selini out of his parents' sight, but he knew that were gonna question him about it at some point. Arriving at the shop, Kyros greets his father with a respectful nod, briefly looking around for his mother, "She's out informing another of our customers." Lorus answered, knowing who Kyros was looking for. Lorus eyes turned to Selini and he gave a respectful bow to the healer, apparently quite aware of who she was. "I've informed one of Aeoto's servants, they should be here shortly." Lorus nodded, "Well done. That'll be all for you this morning." Kyros approached his father, speaking in a lower voice and whatever Kyros had said caused Lorus to give an almost quizzical look to his son, but then simply nodded. Kyros then took a large piece of fresh meat and carried it over to Selini.
So this was Kyros's father... Selini dips her head in return, regarding Lorus quietly. Yeah, she's seen this one around every now-and-again that she thinks of it. It turns out that normally-colored animals are a bit harder to pick out of a crowd or to recognize. Selini's gotta play her part safe, 'cause if she ever /does/ get into trouble -- not that she does anything that could... -- she'd stick out like a sore thumb. How many blue cheetahs are there in exsistance, anyway? The healer's ears perk as Kyros's voice lowers and her says something his father that her sharp ears can't quite make out. The expression it leave on Lorus's face, however, prompts her to quirk a brow. On the whole, though, Selini looks rather un-amused at this rate. She's not ratting the boy out just because he was staring at her. But you can't beat free breakfast, and this looks like a choice piece. As the younger feline approaches, Selini's eyes actually seem to sparkle a little, her tail curling with anticipation. "Well. This will be a good breakfast. Thank you, boy," she responds, as if she'd never really been entirely angry with him... or maybe for the sake of allowing him to keep some standing in his father's presence. She's not entirely evil, you know.
Of course, explaining that he had offered someone a free breakfast wasn't exactly a simple task, which is why Kyros had tried to keep it low and simple, allowing his father to wonder and question him further about it a little later. With the meat delivered to Selini, Kyros gave a small nod to the blue cheetah, "you won't find breakfast more fresh than that at any other shop in Aduro Aurum." Kyros said, probably a little louder than normally to get the attention of the other few awake at this hour. Hey, if he could toss in a little advertisement while he was at it, he might as well do it. Something then dawned on Kyros, his father had said he was done aiding them for the moment, which then meant he had some spare time himself. It was a little while before he was going to meet with his mentor and Kyros looked thoughtful. He could go out and catch a minor meal for himself to make up for lack of breakfast, or he could head over to the library and dig into the books for a while.
Well. In any case, Selini's got breakfast, and she'll probably be happier once she gets to the gardens with her meal. Or she could just eat it now. But by now, the eastern horizon is starting to brighten and the cool gray of early morning is giving way ot a pale blue. The air is warming up and all too soon: she was hoping to make it to the gardens before morning came on fully. The city is already beginning to stir more... which means Kyros's little advertisement may not go fully ignored. "I must be on my way now. You can never tell just how busy it's going to be for a healer," she comments, a wry smile forming on her maw before her eyes really focus on Kyros and his father. "Nice meeting the both of you," she starts, her tail swaying to one side before she looks fully on the youth, "Stay out of trouble. Akasha is always watching." Yeah. So there. She'll know whenever Kyros stares down poor little cheetahs like Selini. "Now if you'll excuse me -- hate to eat and run, but I must get to the gardens before it gets too busy," so stooping to pick up her free breakfast, the blue cheetah turns to go, her tail swishing as farewell. She's outta here!
Kyros replied to Selini as she mentioned being on her way, "I'll make sure you won't be any busier due to my actions." he reassured, not having much of an idea just how busy a healer was. Would depend on how many would end up being wounded or sick in a day, he figured. Kyros watched as Selini turned and headed towards the garden, Kyros looked relieved once she disappeared from sight. In the end, no harm was done, at least he didn't get the impression she was still annoyed due to him staring earlier, but dang it, how could he /not/ stare at a blue cheetah randomly appearing on one of his morning routes? But it was sorted and settled and that was that. Now all he had to do was avoid getting injured and ending up having to seek out Selini to heal his wounds, that was sure to get more than a little grumpy, he guessed and started heading towards the city gates, having decided on a hunt rather than the books for once. At least he was much more awake now and he did intend to make use of his temporal displacement power to make sure the hunt went smooth and easy.