Village Evening

Iapto smiled as Echo buried his face in Ida’s fur briefly. "She alright?" He asked, peering over Ida, before putting her on a stool. The two cats sniffed each other with interest.

“She’ll be fine, just needs food.” Iapto replied looking back to the girl, cradling her mug. “Hey girl, what’s your name?” She asked. She glanced down at her lap briefly as Warin’s head landed on it. She petted his head distractedly with her free hand. Animals seemed to like her lap. She flashed Farai a grin. She’d question her later about why she was here, seemingly by herself.

"Hmm? Ida?" He looked over to her, then back at the two questioning girls "She's a serval. Albino serval to be more exact. It's quite rare" He pet her head with a smile.

"Hmm? Ida?" The man asked,"She's a serval. Albino serval to be more exact. It's quite rare"

Rowan nodded her head, she'd never heard of a serval before, but going by Ida, they were quite pretty. She was watching Kiva and Ida, as the pair began to play fight, and nearly missed the woman's question “Hey girl, what’s your name?”

Rowan swollowed her mouthful of food, "I'm Rowan, and my cat's name is Kiva..... who are you?" she asked rather bluntly


(Rowan has no manners beyond saying thank you)

"I'm Rowan, and my cat's name is Kiva... Who are you?" She replied bluntly.

“I’m Iapto Van Der Aart. This is my sister Farai and you’ve already met her dog, Warin.” Iapto replied. Like usual she was careful to leave out Echo’s name. She didn’t want to annoy him by running around spouting out his name to everyone she met.

She turned and scanned the bar. Spotting the barman she whistled and indicated for him to come over. “Could you get this lady a glass of water.” She directed bluntly. The barman wondered off to do so. “Alcohol probably isn’t the best when you’re dehydrated.” Iapto said, eyeing the girl. The glass of water apearing pretty quickly.

She frowned to herself in thought, her eye scanning her. Rowan didn’t look very old. Defiantly younger than herself and judging by her tattered clothes she’d been by herself for quite a while. She was about to ask how old Rowan was, when she faltered slightly, Rowan might not know. Iapto herself didn’t quite know her age. She was either twenty-four or twenty-five. And then there was the fact she might not want to tell them, like Echo didn't like telling his name. She gave her head a light shake and twisted to lean on the bar, fiddling with her leather gauntlet, at a loss of what to say.

((she's hanging out with thieves. I doubt they'll mind XD))

“I’m Iapto Van Der Aart. This is my sister Farai and you’ve already met her dog, Warin.” Rowan smiled faintly at Farai as Iapto introduced her, and glance warily at Warin. She'd been chased by a lot of dogs, and they made her nervous. She also noticed that she left out the mans name They either don't know each other well... or he doesn't like his name being thrown around.
“Could you get this lady a glass of water.” She looked up as Iapto spoke “Alcohol probably isn’t the best when you’re dehydrated.” and jumped slightly when the barman plonked down the glass infront of her. Well that was fast.

She sipped quitly at the water, watching Iapto from the corner of her eye as Iapto looked at her and frowned to herself, then twited to lean on the bar and fiddled with her gauntlets.

She put her half empty glass on the bar counter, and turned to Iapto, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. "What do you want to know?" she said. Though people never spoke to her much, or she to them, she often watched them and was pretty good at reading thier body language and expressions, and could tell the woman had been about to ask her something.

Iapto and the man were the first people to talk to her in weeks, most of the people she met wouldn't acknowledge her existance, let alone speak with or give her food.

“I’m Iapto Van Der Aart. This is my sister Farai and you’ve already met her dog, Warin.”

"Wait, Wait, wait....Farai is your sister?" Echo raised a brow and took a seat behind Iapto.

"Hey kid, how old are you?" Echo was blunt and to the point, unlike Iapto, he had no problems going straight out questioning people. Damn hypocrite. "You look way to young to be out of your own, doncha have any parents?" he spit out questions and he leaned over in his seat to look around Iapto and stare at the girl. "My name is Echo, by the way."

"Wait, Wait, wait....Farai is your sister?" Echo asked sitting down.

“Yeah, long story.” Iapto muttered, frowning to herself again. She quickly fixed a smile to her face, not wanting to seem like she was grumpy all the time. She shifted uneasily, the pub was getting too crowed and noisy for her liking, although she could see the streets were much emptier than they were earlier.

"Hey kid, how old are you? You look way too young to be out of your own, doncha have any parents? My name is Echo, by the way." Echo then asked, bombarding the girl with questions.

“Breathe.” Iapto interjected calmly. “And since when have you ran around giving out your name?” She remarked, raising her eyebrows at him with a smile.

"Hey kid, how old are you? You look way too young to be out of your own, doncha have any parents? My name is Echo, by the way."

Rowan blinked, Echo.... Iapto, Farai.... these people have wierd names. where she was from, everyone was named after plants or animals.

"I'm seventeen." she replied, "And I don't have any parents, they died when I was eight, when our farm was burnt down." She looked away, so they couldn't see the pain on her face. "My Aunt Rose and Uncle Martin took my baby brother, Reed... but they didn't want me." She choked back a sob, Reed would be eleven now... a tear rolled down her face, and she hastily wiped it away. "He probably doesn't even remember me..." Kiva suddenly head butted her shoulder and meowed softly at her, and she smiled weakly and rubbed his ears.

(ALso, I've updated Rowan's ref. Read the artists comments for her history and stuff http://silveera.deviantart.com/#/d3hb1uw)

“And since when have you ran around giving out your name?”

"I don't particularly think this one's a threat" she eyed the girl who had explained her situation, letting a few tears roll on the way

"Ah...crap" Echo thought to himself as his face cringed and the girl sobbed, he felt his chest tighten. It did in fact make him feel bad that he pushed the girl to talk herself to tears. He let out a loud sigh and hesitantly wrapped his arms around Rowan, pulling her in to a hug. "Don't cry...stupid...." he muttered with a childish frown splat on his face.


(pwp ya jealous yet Iapto? teheh

“Seventeen...” Iapto said quietly. She had only just left Dagda’s care when she was seventeen. She sat on her stool, leaning on the bar, musing through things in her head. When movement caught her attention, Echo had stood up and walked over to Rowan and was hugging her. Muttering quietly.

Iapto blinked but quickly looked back at the bar, staring at her half empty drink. She quickly finished her drink and rose to her feet with a stretch. “Well I don’t know about you guys.” She said leisurely. “But it’s getting a little crowded in here for my liking.” She said with a smile. “Keep an eye on mah bag would you, Farai.” She said giving her older sister a weak smile as she brushed past, heading for the pub door. She weaved swiftly through the pub’s crowd and shoved the door open.

She trotted out on to the street, stretching her arms above her head and rolling her head lazily. She stifled a yawn as she wondered back and forth, between the pub and the building opposite. She stared up at the sky, it was much darker now, the sun had almost vanished and the dark blue sky had streaks of gold lingering in it. The moon wasn’t visible, but the stars made up for its absence.

The thought of ‘So... Rowan...’ drifted across her mind. She shook it off and focused on the sky. She didn't want to be bugged by nagging doubts, not right now. But none the less, they lingered. She sighed to herself and lent against the nearest wall, rubbing her temples and muttering quietly.

((And that is why you don't torment the Iapto c: ))

Farai watched the whole thing happen and sighed, grabbing her sister's surprisingly heavy ((I wonder why...)) bag and turned to Echo and Rowen. "Hey, Echo, I'll look after Rowen... I think you should go check on Iapto real quick... No idea what the morals some men around here have..." Farai looked down at the bag in surprise, "I think she left her bag..." She stood and shoo'd the guy away, sitting down next to the younger girl. "Some guys are just so oblivious..." she murmured before leaning back in the stool next to the black-haired-girl.
"Y'know what sucks about the past? The down bits. You know what's best about it? The good ol' times..." She turned and looked at the girl cat, offering a hand to rub the feline's neck with. "You can't change the past as much as you want to and how much you strive..." she sighed and looked at Rowen, "But what you can do is shape your future. You're the only one who can change that."

Warin yawned and curled up by the foot of Farai's stool- being the lazy hound that he is inside. He no longer cared about the cat- Farai was safe and on good terms with the cat so there was no trouble in his book.

((Farai =/= motivational speaker. This is the best you'll get. :I))

"Hey, Echo, I'll look after Rowen... I think you should go check on Iapto real quick... No idea what the morals some men around here have..."

Echo broke the hug with Rowan and looked back at Farai "Uh..sure" He took the hint and was shoo'd off by the girl. Echo moved through the pub's people, it was quite crowded, eventually however, he got outside and looked around, finally his eyes met Iapto sitting against a wall, he didn't waste time to walk over and sit next to her "Hey" he greeted as he sat "You feeling alright?"

Iapto had slouched down and was sat against the wall of a house. Fiddling with the leather gauntlets again, a bad habit she was starting to pick up. She rested her head against the wall and looked up at the sky. Jumping slightly as she heard footsteps, one hand about to go for her knives, but stopping as she realised they were in her bag.

"Hey. You feeling alright?" Echo asked sitting down next to her.

“Hmm? Oh yes I’m fine!” She said with a grin. “It was just a little crowded and... a bit too... close for comfort...” She said slowly, looking back down at her hands. Trying to keep a frown off of her face, and not entirely succeeding.

She jerked to her feet and paced back and forth a little. “Why’d you ask?” She said abruptly, glancing over at him.

“Why’d you ask?”

"You don't particularly look so'good." he glanced back "Aside from that, it's not usual for you to leave without your knives. Ever." He shift his weight "So tell me...what's on your mind Iapto?" He looked up at the slowly fading to black sky.

"You don't particularly look so'good. Aside from that, it's not usual for you to leave without your knives. Ever." He said glancing at her.

Iapto’s hand went to the empty sheath again, almost as though checking he was right. Which, of course, he was.

"So tell me...what's on your mind Iapto?" He said, looking up at the sky.

Iapto stopped pacing and ran a hand through her hair. “I’m just... A little confused... I think...” She said slowly, as though she wasn’t sure of her own words. She glanced over at him. “I’ve never seen you voluntarily touch or hug someone. You tend to seize up if I -I mean- if someone gets too close to you.” She said awkwardly.

“I’m just... A little confused... I think...” Echo smirked and let her continue.

“I’ve never seen you voluntarily touch or hug someone. You tend to seize up if I -I mean- if someone gets too close to you.”

He raised a hand up and rest it softly against her cheek "You jealous?" he couldn't really contain the light smirk that was plastered all over his face.

Iapto froze briefly when touched her face. "You jealous?" He asked, a small smirk on his face.

She placed her hand on top of his, tilting her head into his hand, with a weak smile.

“Maybe...” She said slowly. “Maybe...” She echoed, half closing her eyes.

“Maybe...” she said softly

"Good because...that way I feel a lot less guilty for doing this--" he cut off his own words as he leaned in to place a soft kiss against her lips. Although he tried to keep himself from shaking, his heart raced. He was nervous, more than nervous, I mean hell, wouldn't you be too?
In his mind, he debated whether or not this had been a good idea, he mentally braced himself for the slap or punch or whatever else he was probably about to receive.

"Good because...that way I feel a lot less guilty for doing this--" Echo said.

Iapto’s eyes snapped open when his lips met hers. She had not expected that. Not that she was complaining. He was tense, and his heart was racing. Her eyes closed again and her hands came up to cup his face as she kissed him back, without hesitation.

He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against her's, eyes closed with a light hum to himself, "Please don't...hate me for that." he said with a smile an a flushed red face. Running in to the girl constantly, he did have to eventually tell her how he felt, though Echo was never much or a word person, there is that old saying 'actions speak louder than words' right? Well felt like it was a good time to put that theory to the test. He could still feel his heart beating out of his chest, but at least the shaking was gone--partially. Poor lad, 25 years in the run and it was the first time he'd ever really wanted to be with someone.

"Please don't...hate me for that." Echo said resting his forehead on hers. Iapto could practically feel the heat coming off of his red face.

“Why would I hate you?” She asked closing her eyes and smiling too. She took his hands in hers and gave them a light, encouraging squeeze. “I couldn’t hate you even if I tried.” She said with a faint laugh. She sighed softly, her mind running off and thinking again. She had wanted to tell him for ages, it had just always been too... awkward... or hectic. Mainly hectic and dangerous. She was glad to have run into him when it wasn’t, for once.

Rowan was startled out of her depressed reverie when Echo suddenly put his arm around her shoulder "Don't cry...stupid...." He said with a childish frown, causing her to giggle. She sniffed and wiped her eyes again "Sorry.."

“Well I don’t know about you guys.” Iapto suddenly said in an odd leisurely voice. “But it’s getting a little crowded in here for my liking. Keep an eye on mah bag would you, Farai.”
Rowan watched Iapto, startled. Farai suddenly sighed "Hey, Echo, I'll look after Rowen... I think you should go check on Iapto real quick... No idea what the morals some men around here have..."
"Uh..sure" He replied and hastliy went after Iapto. Farai muttered something she couldn't hear and sat down on the stool beside her."Y'know what sucks about the past? The down bits. You know what's best about it? The good ol' times..." She turned to Rowan, and gave Kiva's ears a rub. "You can't change the past as much as you want to and how much you strive..." she sighed and looked at Rowen "But what you can do is shape your future. You're the only one who can change that."

Rowan laughed, "Changing your future is a lot easier when you have a decent supply of food and money....." She looked over at the door where the other two had exited. "Iapto and Echo are in love, aren't they?" She hoped Farai wouldn't notice her rapid change of subject. It still hurt too much to talk about that subjuct.

She was completely oblivious about what was taking place outside.

"Changing your future is a lot easier when you have a decent supply of food and money....." Rowen said.

"Easier, yes." Farai admitted, before leaning onto the bar and grabbing someone's cup- either Echo's or Iapto's she couldn't tell, remember, or care- and took a large swig before placing it carefully where it had been sitting, "but nowhere near as fun."

Farai stretched and leaned back, "Oh I know I grew up with the troupe and always had the option to sit around, make music and get a husband- reasons like those quite a few girls leave the troupe... Bah- if they aren't willing to stay in the troupe then if they stay and have kids they'd teach them all the wrong things and gripe, and whine, and have a hissy-fit and the kid's'd think that's fine and it just isn't worth it..." Farai says before clasping her hands together, bringing them up to her face and leaned into her knuckles. Throwing her voice higher than necessary, she said, "'Oh Farai- you'll understand when your older and your soul wants to settle down. I remember growing up here and I would never subject my angel to growing up like that!' BAH- I had some of the best times of my life with the troupe! The only times better than those were when Mel and I slipped off before dawn and slinked back just after dawn to get chewed out and lay low for a week or so before doing it again... And they don't want their kids around that fun... Well, it just makes sure we don't have anyone who'll complain around I s'pose..." she shook her head in disgust, then remembered who she was talking to and turned to Rowen with an apologetic smile, "Sorry about that. What I'm trying to say is, it might not be easy but it builds character and it's that character that helps shape your future."

"Iapto and Echo are in love, aren't they?" Rowen asked all of a sudden, looking at the door when Farai looked at her.

"In love... Mayhaps maybe. I know they like each other- a LOT- but love..." Farai shrugged before finishing with, "Haven't seen 'em together long enough to know so or not." Digging through her amazingly smaller purse, Farai placed a few coins on the bar, "Barkeep, get me somethin', wouldja?" she turned back to Rowen, "But yeah- if Echo and Iapto are always this way around people then who knows. Maybe they are in love..." she shrugged and winked at the barkeep as he dropped off the beer and took a swig- she was never this loud and obnoxious, but for the night it works for her.

((Farai might seem drunk- but she's perfectly sober... She can handle a LOT of booze... Daila help her liver! |D))

“Why would I hate you? I couldn’t hate you even if I tried.”

He chuckled weakly and pulled his head down to rest softly on her shoulder. Aww man, he felt like a total stooge. "See that's...that's why you really have no reason to be jealous of anyone." he muttered low, the smiled never leaving his face. Echo really didn't feel like going anywhere right now, though, however sweet that moment was, it would eventually have to end. He got to his feet, letting his hands slide out of hers. "Don't stay out here too long, you'll catch a cold" he looked over his shoulder, back at the girl, then started back towards the pub, taking a breath as he walked in. He needed to somehow get that flushed face washed off before Farai or Rowan started asking questions, and it's not like he could particularly say it was hot out.


(pfft, The boy's cheesy way to say 'I love you'? XD Also Morg, i died with your 'Daila help her liver!' lolol.

"See that's...that's why you really have no reason to be jealous of anyone." Echo muttered resting his head on her shoulder. She didn’t have anything to say to that, instead her smile widened, resting her head on his. However she was only able to stay like that for a moment, Echo got to his feet. "Don't stay out here too long, you'll catch a cold." He said looking over his shoulder, before heading into the pub.

Iapto stayed sitting on the floor, slowly looking away from the pub door. She let out all her breath in a big rush, unaware that she had been holding it. With a quiet groan she rested her head in her hands, a smile creeping across her face. “Was not expecting that... not at allll.” She said slowly, with a slight chuckle. She tilted her head back and ran her hands through her hair staring at the sky. Now Echo had gone she could feel that her heart was racing. She took a few deep breaths of the cool air and climbed to her feet. There was no use sitting around all night, despite how tempting it was.

She trotted to the pub door and waited a moment, not wanting to yank open the door and run into the back of Echo. She tugged the door open and slipped back into the pub, weaving between the drinkers, heading straight for her sisters red mop of hair. “You better not have been drinking my beer.” She greeted.