A Candle Lit Nymph

[Gilak]

The heat of summer layed like a blanket across the port capital city of Shimekiri, the most well developed city in the land of River. While the humidity seemed to be rather suffocating, the port itself brings in the cool ocean breeze for the time being. Common bustling of the city sounded quite familiar as the ship docked into one of the many slots. Maketa and two other men rappled down the ship to help anchor it to the posts. After taking some time to collect his coin from the captain's treasurer, the boy left the ship wondering of into the heart of the city.

The main road of the city was layed out with a multitude of stalls and food stands. Walking past most of the stands Maketa found himself at a stall that was designed like a small library. A mid aged woman with red hair and a white button up shirt sat under the shade of her awning as she used a simple paper fan to keep air flow on herself. The woman looked up at the boy as sweat formed on her brow. "Good Morrow young'un, what kind of adventure rolled you in to these parts?" She asked as she looked the boy up and down. The boy stood a little over 5 feet tall and was rather slim for his height. His head was topped with locks of dark brown, draping onto the boys tanned skin. His wardrobe was simple as he wore a loose white T, red shorts, a sash sporting some sort of dagger and a simple pair of sandals. As the woman looked back up towards his face she was taken aback for a moment. In the shade that her stall provided made the boys eyes more prominent. The obscurity was instantly defined..... his eyes glowed like the flame of a candle.

"I'd like to learn as much about the world as I possibly can. I'm looking for any books that would teach me about this country's culture." The boy's eyes glew a little brighter from his excitement, he tossed a handful of coins onto the table. His eyes shifted around her shop before landing his eyes on a old crate in the back of the stall. The woman followed the boys eyes to her crate of unsellable books and scrolls. "I'll tell you what kidchop, I'll give you that crate along with this atlas for all the coins here." She sat forward and grasped the crate, heaving it o tot he table. The boy nodded as he packed the atlas into the crate and heated it up onto his shoulder with one arm. Giving a thankful nod as his childish grin grew across his face, turning a full 180 on the ball of his heel he came face to face with a blue haired girl.... "U-uh... Hi?"

[Kabu]

Hikari had at first wandered into the land of rivers by mere accident, having gotten very lost after wandering off the path. The forested region she had first entered was uncomfortably hot and humid and her initial intent had been to pass through quickly as possible. While passing through the country however, curiosity got the better of her and she decided to explore the new territory she had found herself in, take in the sights and sounds, all the while hoping that she would find a lead, anything at all leading towards her mother.

She eventually came across rumors that a woman had been traveling the countryside, taking care of those who couldn't help themselves. It wasn't much but she knew from her caretaker that her mom had been training as a medic and well, she was willing to try anything.

Which led her to the capital city, the port town of Shimekiri. It was rather exciting for the girl, this being her first time in a developed city and even her first time near the sea. She spent some amount of time wandering the city, even stopping near the docks a moment to take in the ocean breeze before turning her attention to the stalls decorating the streets. There was a vast variety but it was a book stall that caught her attention, her eyes lighting up in excitement as she made her way towards it. Out here reading wasn't the most common of skills but her caretaker had made sure to teach her at a young age and so this particular stall had been a very welcome sight.

It was as she approached that she noticed the boy standing at the stall, a crate in hand, the pair soon coming face to face as he turned around. She was taken aback by his glowing eyes, blinking as if to make sure she wasn't imagining it.

Moments passed in silence, an embarrassed blush crossing her cheeks as she finally realized she had been silently staring. "Um, hello. Sorry about that... just, I've never seen eyes like yours before. I'm uh, Akaiyah Hikari."

[Gilak]

Moments passed by as their brief interaction seemed to be rather stunning for both of them, his childish smile broke open as he prepared to talk. "Nice to make daylight with you, the name is Maketa. Are you by chance a Local? I'm rather new to this whole traveling stuff and was hoping to figure out where there Merchant ship docked. They don't tell us crew much incase pirates take us over." His Eyes glowing every brighter as the words about traveling and pirates came about. Reaching out his hand, he offered a open palm, inside of it was a few oddly shaped hexagon coins seeming to be made out of Gold Ore. The boy focused his vision down to her lower side as he noticed the twin holsters containing the girls daggers. His face looking rather confused as hedropped down into a squat, his face parallel to the holsters. "This style of dagger isn't at all like those of which we have seen at Jinjeku, I've seen alot of craftsmanship be sold on the market.

Curiosity has always been a personality trait for the young boy, sometimes to a fault as he continued to ponder on the way that the blue haired girls attire looked. His right eyebrow peaked up as he looked up towards her, shifting the crate on his shoulder as he let of a large grin. The tone in his eyes glowing from a soft amber to a sharp Goldenrod coloration. Still squating he ran his right hand through his hair, slicking it back so that the sun could highlight his skin, letting the sweat evaporate off. So this is what I must be like to not live on a island. There are people here who don't reek of booze and body odor, nee encounters to experience, and obviously not having to duck your head every few minutes to dodge a incoming hazard on the docks.

[Kabu]

"Sorry, I'm just as lost as you are, maybe moreso. I'm not even from this country and this is the first time I've been away from home. All of this is very new to me." Hikari spoke apologetically, her thoughts briefly wandering towards home, wondering if her caretaker and the townsfolk were doing okay in her absence. Honestly some part of her already felt a bit homesick, though she hadn't really been gone for terribly long. Luckily she didn't have much time to dwell on it, blushing as she noticed the boy looking her over, his attention seeming to be focused on her daggers.

"Ah, my daggers... They were a parting gift from my caretaker. She never did say where they came from or how she obtained them." she responded, smiling at the memory of the teary eyed parting they had shared upon her departure. Though again she wouldn't have much time to dwell on it as the boy spoke once more.

"I grew up in a very small village with only a small lake nearby. I never knew a city could be quite so busy and I think I love the smell and feel of the ocean breeze." she responded with a smile and a nod, following up his sentiments with a few on her own.

"So, what was it like, growing up on an island?"

[Gilak]

"Well i finally saved up enough coin to go off Jinjeku, hopefully i can return when i have made a name for myself. as we are both new to this country, are you traveling all alone?" Asking as he continued to stay squated, putting away the gold coins in his hand. Do all kids travel young? i thought i was the only exception since most adults on Jinjeku island never bring children around for obvious reasons.

"Is a Caretaker like your mother or father? I never knew my parents, i was delivered to my Dock Master and grew up only knowing the life of a dock hand. I would read books about fantastical beasts and where to find them. Adventures of Heroes and Villains, Royal Samurai and Divine Beings. Everything that could ever be told in a legend has to have a origin behind it." The Passion of his Goals filled his entire being, his Eyes shining just as bright as a open flame at its full peak before slowly dimming down to its usual glow.

He seemed breaking the ice rather well with this new stranger, perhaps due to the fact that they were both young and at the moment alone. Possibly it was because they they have a connection of being new to a strange land, finding comfort in know that someone else is in the same shoes boat they they are in. The boy was rather relieved as she was also sporting a smile, letting off a friendly sense of aura. Listening to her words and before speaking with his confidence. "The Ocean, Beaches, and Tropics are the only environment i have ever know, there are supposed to be place that host mountains that touch the realm of gods, Deserts that are like really really hot enormous beaches that border no lakes or oceans, Forests and Jungles so tall and thick that they seem to be always in a state of night. I want to visit all of these places in more if i can, that is why i was guided here by fate, leading us to meet. Growing up on Jinjeku was i guess i would say a Fun Experience. you got to meet many of people from all around the world, bringing in all sorts of trade goods. There was however i source of danger as you never knew what might happen. The grown ups always seemed to drink during the night, you would hear the sounds of fighting, celebrating, and the occasional explosions. The most exciting parts was when ships that didn't have the Merchants crest on the side of their ship tried to come to shore. Most of them didn't make it into the cove as their ships were blasted to pieces. Unfortunately, my place on the island was to help load and unload ships, fortunately the Dock Master said due to my Genetics i am able to lift 4x the amount of weight any of the other adults could lift. We discovered this as i was able to stop a Ox from trampling one of our other deck hands at the age of 7. "

Standing up he kept his crate centered on his shoulder, his center of balance rather balanced. His eyes looking at her from eye level. "Care if i travel with you for now? I really don't have a destination, I'm just looking for anything that will help me learn about the world we live in."

[Kabu]

"Well, it's something like that. She was the one that raised me so I guess she's like my adopted mother in a way." Hikari responded to Maketa's question about her caretaker, head tilted thoughtfully. In truth she had never really thought about it. The woman had always been a part of her life, dating back even to the few fuzzy memories she had of Kameko, her birth mother. Her caretaker had always been there and in a way, she did think of her as a mother and she was certain she had been thought of as a daughter.

She was broken out of her reminiscing as Maketa spoke once more, this time answering her own questions, to which she listened intently. She had heard of Jinjeku Island and it had always seemed like a fascinating place but the way Maketa described it only made her more fascinated, more curious to one day go there herself and see what it was really like. Maybe he was right... maybe their meeting was something like fate. She had never been sure she believed in such a thing, but it wasn't entirely unbelievable that there might be an unforeseen force out there guiding their paths. If there was such a thing however... she just had to wonder why it had torn her mother away from her.

"You know? I would love for us to travel together even if only for a time." she said, trailing off as her cheerfulness seemed to fade. There was something that needed to be said... "I don't have a particular destination in mind either. I'm on a journey to seek out my birth mother, to find out why she left me behind and maybe even become a family again. I can't guarantee how safe it'll be." she added, her cheerfulness seeming to come back as she felt that weight lift off her shoulder. "If you're okay with random pit stops and going off the beaten path at times then sure, I would be more than happy to have you."